A Different World
by Striderm8
Summary: SAO - A revolutionary game that was meant to be fun, only to transform into a tragic incident. Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of SAO, mysteriously vanished after release. Kirito, an ordinary teenage boy, now stuck in this life and death game and Sinon, a skilled beta tester, also stuck in the floating castle of Aincrad. How will they escape? Strength? Intelligence? Or Skill? - Hiatus
1. The Beginning

**SAO story based on Kirito x Sinon. This story will not effect my other story, The Swordsman and The Sniper: Ribbons of Fate, at all. Anyway, hope you guys** **enjoy**. 

'Link start!'

An onyx haired teen opened his eyes and smiled as he felt his body materialize. Kirito looked around at the plaza he spawned in, remembering every detail of the Town of Beginnings.

'Alright, lets do this!' Running off, Kirito ran out of the plaza, dodging new players who looked at their bodies with admiration. Turning the corner, he saw the exit to the fields and smiled. Today was a good day.

Sinon walked away from a NPC's store, unhappy with the choice she had to made. Throwing picks were the only thrown weapon currently available as throwing knives had to be player made. 'Damnit,' the powder-blue hair girl sighed as she quickly walked towards the fields. 'That cost me most of my col and their durability is shit.' Exiting the Town of Beginnings, Sinon passed the invisible barrier that protected the starting area and walked towards the fields. A flash of blue light appeared ahead of her and a Frenzy Boar materialized from it. Sinon groaned as she pulled out the dagger strapped to her back that hung from her waist in a leather sheath. Whipping it out, Sinon caught a glimpse at her avatar that she used in the beta, powder-blue hair, turquoise eyes and a pretty face. 'Time to farm.'

Kirito sighed as the Frenzy Boar in front of him erupted into thousands of blue and green polygons. Sheathing his sword, he heard a whistle behind him.

'Hey!' Turning, Kirito saw a violet-haired teenager standing a couple of meters away. 'You're pretty good at this, aren't you?' Surprised, Kirito didn't move as the stranger approached. 'You're a beta tester like me, aren't you?'

'Yeah,' Kirito responded, looking at the teen standing across from him.

'Wanna party up for a bit?' He asked casually, hands in his pockets. 'I'm sure the two of us could get to the second town, no problems.'

Kirito smiled as he raised his hand. 'Sure. My name's Kirito.'

The teen shook Kirito's hand and smiled. 'Julian. Let's go own this world!'

Sinon watched a red-haired man get thrown into the grass and sighed. His opponent? The fearsome Frenzy Boar. Walking towards the pig, Sinon pulled out a throwing pick and closed her left eye. With ease, she hurled the pick at the boar, hitting it directly in the head. With a yelp, the boar exploded into thousands of blue and green polygons. Swiping away the rewards menu, she stepped in front of the man and held her hand out.

'T-Thanks,' he groaned, rubbing his head as Sinon helped him to his feet.

Sinon sighed and started walking towards the ledge that overlooked the Town of Beginnings. 'You're pathetic,' Sinon said aloud to Klein. 'That Frenzy Boar is this games weakest enemy.'

'What?' Klein said in disbelief as he followed Sinon. 'I thought that was a mid-level boss or something!'

'That _mid-level boss_ is about as strong as a slime in other games,' Sinon said with a smirk.

Klein stopped walking as his jaw dropped. 'You're kidding me,' he said in disbelief.

'I'm not.' Sinon reached the ledge and looked out at the sunset, admiring the beauty the virtual world had to offer. The Town of Beginnings stood proudly, shining in the dying sunlight.

'Woah,' Klein gasped as he reached Sinon. 'It's beautiful.'

'Yeah.' The two stood in silence, admiring the breathtaking view of the mountains and forest that rested peacefully in the distance. The game was alive and full of energy, filling more like paradise than a virtual world.

'Ahh, damn,' a male voice said, disrupting the peace. 'Somebody beat us here. That sucks.'

Turning around, Sinon saw two teens walking towards her and Klein, one with onyx hair and the other with violet hair.

'Tsk,' Sinon muttered. 'Kirito.'

Kirito stopped in his tracks and looked at Sinon, recognizing the girl from the beta. 'Sinon?'

'Hmph!' Sinon turned from the boy and looked at his companion. The purple-haired boy had the same gear as Kirito, the only exception being his shirt which was purple.

'You know these guys?' Klein asked Sinon.

'Only one,' she replied, pointing at Kirito. 'I don't know who that is.'

The purple-haired teen stepped back, grabbing at his heart. 'I'm hurt, Sinon,' he said, despair running through his voice. 'I thought one of the best players in the game would recognize her superior.'

'Now now, Julian,' Kirito said, barely containing his laughter. 'We don't want to hurt her feelings.'

'Shut up Kirito,' Sinon said angrily as she walked towards Julian and grabbed his shirt's collar. 'What do you mean by, _superior_?'

Julian looked at Sinon and laughed. 'You seriously don't know who I am?' Sinon dropped him and glared daggers, making Julian laughed even harder. 'Sinon san, we all know that you were ranked the fourth strongest player in the SAO beta, but did you ever find out who was ranked higher than you?'

'Woah, woah, wait,' Klein said, walking between the two players. 'Sinon, you were the fourth strongest player in the beta?'

'Yeah,' she said. 'I know Kirito is higher than me, but I know nothing about this guy.'

'Wow,' Klein said, amazed at his luck. 'I was being helped by the fourth strongest player in the beta and I didn't even know.'

'Well,' Kirito said as he stepped forward. 'Julian and I?' Kirito looked at the blonde boy and smiled. 'We were tied for first place in the beta.'

'Bullshit,' Sinon said angrily as she stepped towards Julian. 'I can believe Kirito, but this guy?' She shook her head. 'He doesn't look like the type who could keep up with Kirito.'

'Really now?' Julian said, scratching his chin. Without warning, he pulled his sword from the sheath on his side and leaped at Kirito at an extreme speed. Kirito didn't even blink as he turned his back to him and pulled his sword out partially, catching the blade with a dull ring. 'Heh,' Julian said as he sheathed his sword. 'As expected of you, putting your points into strength and agility already.'

'Of course,' Kirito responded, letting his sword slide back into its sheath. 'Hey, Sinon, what level are you?'

'Why do you care?' She replied, folding her arms.

'Just curious,' Kirito said as he started walking back towards the town. 'I'm already level 4.'

'WHAT!'

'He's telling the truth,' Julian said as he joined Kirito. 'I just hit level 3 myself.'

'Wow,' Klein said in awe as the two walked away. 'So those are the two that were tied for the strongest player in the beta.' Shaking his head, Klein turned to Sinon who was looking at the sunset again, arms still folded. 'Anyway, thank you for the help today, Sinon,' Klein said as he opened his menu. 'I've got a pizza that's coming soon, so I'll be logging out. Seeya.'

'No problem Klein,' Sinon replied without turning around. 'Seeya.' Sighing as the sun slowly disappeared, she heard Klein scrolling through his menu.

'Uhh, Sinon?' He said nervously. 'Total noob question, but... Where's the logout button?'

'Seriously,' Sinon turned around and smiled as she opened her menu. 'It should be right here.' Tapping on settings, Sinon's smile quickly vanished as she looked for the non-existent logout button.

'So it's not there for you either?' Klein sighed as he checked the time. 'Crap! My pizza is gonna be here any second now!'

Sinon frowned as she sent a message to the GM. 'This could just be a bug, but I sent a message to the GM just in case.'

'Ahh, is this supposed to happen?' Sinon turned to look at Klein as he was slowly enveloped in a blue light.

 _Forced teleportation? What's going on_ , Sinon thought as she was enveloped in the blue light as well. Closing her eyes, she felt her body materialize in a new area. Opening her eyes, Sinon found herself in the Town of Beginnings at the plaza she spawned in. Looking around, she saw players teleporting into the plaza, wondering what was going on as well.

'Damnit,' Kirito muttered as he hammered his fist into the invisible barrier that surrounded the plaza. 'Any luck, Julian?'

'Nothing here,' his companion replied, emerging from the increasing crowd. 'You have an idea on what's going on?'

'No idea,' Kirito replied as he pushed his back against the barrier. 'We'll just have to wait and see.'

Julian laughed nervously as he looked up at the sky. 'I don't think we'll have to wait at all.' Kirito looked up as a red hexagon appeared in the sky. A crimson liquid began to drop from it as more red hexagons appeared, covering the entire sky.

'Is that blood?' Kirito gasped as the liquid began leaking violently from the sky. Two hands appeared from the hexagons as a hooded figure emerged.

'That is one _hell_ of an entrance,' Julian murmured, folding his arms as the hooded figure hovered above the center of the plaza.

'Let's see what they have to say,' Kirito said as he looked at the figure in the sky.

'Hello players,' the figure in the sky said, his voice echoing across the Town of Beginnings. 'My name is Kayaba Akihiko, and I personally welcome you all to Sword Art Online.'

Sinon gasped along with everyone in the crowd. _Kayaba Akihiko is here?_ She thought to herself.

'Now,' Kayaba addressed the crowd. 'You may have noticed that your logout button is missing from your menu.' Kayaba swiped open his menu and showed the blank space where the logout button was supposed to be. 'I assure you, this is not a defect. This is a feature of Sword Art Online which makes it unique.'

Kirito's eyes narrowed as he took in what the creator of SAO said. 'I don't like where this is going,' he said to Julian who nodded.

Kayaba continued on. 'When your health bar reaches zero, your avatar will be wiped from the Cardinal system which in turn will make it impossible to respawn. Once this happens, the Nervegear will send a radiation wave that will destroy your brain, instantly killing you.'

Murmurs rose from the crowd as Sinon's eyes widened. 'No way, this can't be happening.'

'Now, you may be thinking that I can just wait for someone from outside to take the Nervegear off of me,' Kayaba said as he opened up a window with a news report, showing a death toll of a couple hundred. 'Despite warnings, many have already died by not heeding my warning.' Closing the menu, Kayaba raised both of his arms to the side, addressing all the players. 'From now on, there will no way to revive a player that dies.' The players began yelling, all hope taken from them.

'You've got to be kidding me,' Julian said, his eyes wide open as he stared at the creator in disbelief. 'I want to believe that this is some sort of sick joke or something.'

'No,' Kirito said angrily. 'He's not fucking around, Kayaba is telling the truth. The man wouldn't lie.' Looking up, Kirito glared at Kayaba, wondering what his true intentions were.

'However,' Kayaba spoke again, gaining everyone's attention. 'There is hope.' Clicking his fingers together, a diagram of a floating castle appeared, revealing 100 floors total. 'There are a total of 100 floors in Aincrad,' Kayaba explained as he tapped on the first floor. 'This is where we are right now, the lowest floor in Aincrad which happens to be the first floor. In order to escape Sword Art Online, you must clear all 100 floors and defeat the final boss.'

Players began to lose control, yelling questions at Kayaba or talking to themselves as despair took over.

'I can die here,' Sinon murmured to herself, eyes wide open as memories of that fateful day began swarming her mind. She remembered opening her eyes to the sight of her hands drenched in blood, holding a pistol aimed at a man with a hole in his head. 'Noo,' Sinon murmured to herself, holding her head in her hands. 'This can't be happening...'

'A final gift,' Kayaba said as he began to disappear into the red hexagons that slowly sucked in all the dripping blood. 'Check your inventory, I've left a surprise for all of you.'

Julian frowned as he opened his menu and checked his inventory.

 _Mirror?_

Clicking on the item, it materialized and appeared in his hand. He saw himself in the mirror frowning, purple hair covering his eye. As he looked at himself, he heard Kirito yelp and looked over as his companion was enveloped in a blue light. 'Kirito!' Julian shouted as he reached out to him, only to be enveloped in the same light.

'Now, I wish you luck players. Make it to the 100th floor and beat this game, Sword Art Online!' Kayaba declared as he vanished into thin air, taking the bloody red hexagons with him.

Kirito dropped his mirror and looked at Julian who mirrored his movements.

'Julian?'

'Kirito?'

The two teens shook their heads as they saw their real life bodies in game. 'Now's not the time to be amazed,' Kirito said to Julian who's avatar had completely changed. 'Let's head to the next town right now.'

'Right,' Julian said as he ran out of the plaza with Kirito, still taking in the complete change of his avatar.

Sinon looked in the mirror as terror washed over her. She became Sinon in the virtual world to become strong. So why the hell did she look like herself in the game? The shattering of a mirror woke her up from her thoughts. Looking up, she watched two teenagers run off out of the plaza, one with black hair and the other with blonde hair.

'I should get going as well,' she said to herself as she ran out of the plaza. Just as Sinon left, Pandemonium broke out. Players screamed as everyone began panicking, finally realizing what Kayaba said. _I will not die in this world,_ Sinon said to herself. _I will be strong._

 **Alrighty then, I know that I have another story, and I will continue it. Don't freak out, I just happen to have an idea for an SAO story as well. Anyway, in this, it will be Kirito x Sinon, so don't worry about it. Also, Julian is a character that I made up going off of a photo I found (if you want, I can show it later on). In this story, Kirito and Sinon are both beta testers, but Sinon dislikes Kirito as he beat her in the beta, being ranked 1 with Julian. I didn't mention Klein during the speech with Kayaba cause why not. He's fine, don't worry. He'll make a guild with his friends soon, so he'll be fine. Also, the next chapter for The Swordsman and The Sniper: Ribbons of Fate should be out in a day or two, maybe three. If you're lucky, maybe a couple of hours. Anyway, hope you guys or gals, I'm not assuming genders here, enjoy this story.**

 **Make sure to follow/favorite, all that good stuff.**

 **-Striderm8**


	2. Four Players Meet

**I GOT A TITLE FOR THIS STORY! Not really, I just named it A Different World cause why not. No reviews on this so far, but I don't really mind. Hope you peeps enjoy this chapter. Also, thank you everyone who followed the story and even favorited it, it's very inspiring for me in a way.**

'So,' Julian said between breaths as he ran with Kirito towards the second town. 'What do you planning on doing once we get there?'

'The quest for the Annealed Blade,' Kirito huffed. 'That sword should do until floor 5 or 6.'

'Ahh, I see.' The two beta testers ran in silence, the dull thuds of their boots and their raspy breaths the only noise heard. The town emerged from ahead, the lights shining on the two teens as they sighed in relief. Entering the town, Kirito immediately walked to a small cottage. Knocking on the door, he waited patiently as Julian looked around, admiring the new changes. The door swung open and an elderly woman stepped out and looked up at Kirito, a question mark above her head. Julian smiled as he watched Kirito enter the cottage with the woman, the door closing quietly behind them. 'I may as well go and upgrade my equipment while I can,' Julian murmured as he walked off, trying to remember where the blacksmith shop was.

Sinon smiled as he glimpsed the town ahead of her. Still running, she began to slow down as she reached the invisible safe zone barrier that surrounded the warmly lit town. 'Finally,' Sinon said to herself as she slowed down to a walk. Heading through the town, Sinon headed towards the small hotel and stepped inside. Walking to the reception, she spoke to the NPC man who smiled at her.

'Hello,' he said with a smile. 'How may I help you?'

'A room for the night,' Sinon replied.

'50 Cor.' Sinon opened her menu and took out 50 cor. Holding the silver coin in her hand, she placed it on the counter. 'I hope you enjoy your stay,' the NPC said as he handed her a key. Sinon exited the hotel and sighed.

'Now that's out of the way,' Sinon said as she walked back out to the fields. 'It's time to farm.'

Kirito left the cottage and sighed as he heard the door shut behind him. 'You ready?' Kirito looked up and grinned as Julian waved at him.

'Yeah, let's go,' he replied, walking towards the exit. 'I wanna get this sword before somebody else does.'

'I've got my gear already,' Julian said with a smile as he matched Kirito's walking speed. 'Went to the blacksmith and got myself a new sword.' Kirito looked at the sword in Julian's sheath, admiring his new weapon.

'Anyway, lets hurry. Other players will be getting here soon.'

'Agreed.'

 _30 minutes later..._

'Still no drop,' Kirito said, frustrated with his luck.

'Same here,' Julian said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Sheathing his sword, Julian sighed and leaned against a tree. 'I swear we've killed nearly a hundred of these Little Nepenthes, and we haven't had a single one appear with a flower.' Looking over at Kirito, Julian frowned. 'Want to call it a night or nah?'

'Nah,' Kirito said. 'If I don't do this quest, someone else might beat me to it. After all, this quest can only be done on-' The teen went silent as he crouched, eyes searching the area.

'What's wrong?' Julian asked quietly, slowly pulling his sword out.

'I found one,' Kirito whispered, pointing at a bush. Waiting silently, Julian watched a Little Nepenthe stumble out of the bush, a flower resting on its head.

'I'll distract it,' Julian said as he walked out in front of the beast. Snarling, the Little Nepenthe stumbled forward viciously. Pulling his sword out silently, Kirito stepped behind the beast and exhaled.

'Now!' Kirito yelled as he activated _Slant_ , a sword skill that slashed diagonally at the enemy. Julian thrusted forward with his new blade and stabbed the Little Nepenthe in the chest as Kirito sliced the monster in half, a red cut from the shoulder to waist. Wailing, the Nepenthe exploded into polygons as Kirito and Julian sighed in relief.

'Finally,' Julian yawned as he watched Kirito accept the reward. 'Let's go, I'm tired.'

'Yeah, I'm wasted,' Kirito replied with a yawn of his own. Walking with Julian through the forest, they both stopped as they heard a scream echo through the dark forest. 'Let's go!' Kirito yelled as he sprinted towards the source of the scream, Julian right behind him. Entering a small clearing, Kirito saw a hooded figure on the ground with their hand raised up, a swarm of Little Nepenthes slowly approaching the helpless player.

'Hold on!' Julian yelled as he leaped into the clearing, his sword coming out of it's sheath in an instant. Landing with a grunt, he instantly stabbed the closest monster and moved to the next, ignoring its death. Kirito quickly followed Julian as he joined the fight, his starting sword slicing effortlessly through the Little Nepenthes.

'I-I'll help,' the player muttered weakly as they tried to stand, only to fall to their feet again.

'Stay where you are!' Kirito yelled out as he stabbed a Little Nepenthe with ease. 'This'll be over soon!' Kirito glanced at Julian, only to see the boy being slowly pushed back.

'Kirito!' Julian grunted as he jumped back, slashing through one of the monsters as he did. 'We're going to have to get out of here soon, otherwise we'll be overrun!'

'I know.' Killing another Nepenthe, Kirito backed up to the player and crouched down beside them. 'Can you walk?'

'I-I don't think so,' the player muttered, turning their head to look at the red gashes on their body.

'Damnit,' Kirito muttered under his breath. Looking up, he saw Julian getting closer and closer to him. Sighing, Kirito picked up the player and stood up. 'Julian!' He shouted out. 'Let's go!' Without hesitation, Kirito ran out of the clearing towards the town, Julian close behind. Hearing the snarls from the Little Nepenthe, Kirito grunted as he jumped over a stray tree root.

'Nearly there!' Julian huffed as the town emerged from the darkness, the light beckoning them. Running even faster than before, the three players burst out of the dark forest into the soothing light and sighed, knowing that they were now safe.

'Thank god,' Kirito groaned as he put the player down. 'That was close.'

'Never thought that Little Nepenthes could be such a problem,' Julian said as he fell on his back, breathing heavily. 'Oh well, let's go finish that quest and get some sleep.'

'Yeah, but first,' Kirito turned to the player they saved, looking with curiosity. 'What's your name?' He asked.

'I, ahh...' Kirito gulped as he realized the player was a girl.

'It's alright if you don't want to tell us,' Julian said gently, sitting up as he spoke. 'But what were you doing out in the forest alone?'

'I was trying to get stronger,' she murmured, looking away from the two teens. 'Anyway,' she said quickly as she got to her feet. 'Thank you for saving me!' Before they could speak, she ran off, quickly disappearing.

'That's a weird girl,' Julian murmured before turning to Kirito. 'Oi! Kirito! Let's go already. I want some sleep.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Kirito said as he got to his feet. 'Go rent a room at the inn, I'll go finish the quest.' Julian watched Kirito walk off and sighed. Getting to his feet, he slowly walked towards the nearest inn.

Sinon looked at the NPC's weapons and sighed. Walking away, she looked left and right at the stores, looking for something useful.

BAM!

A player in a cloak with a hood ran into Sinon at full speed, sending both players sprawling on the ground. 'Hey!' Sinon said angrily as she sat up, hand rubbing her head. 'Watch where you're going!'

'S-Sorry,' the player said, her voice trembling with fear. Sinon opened her eyes to see a chestnut-haired girl on the ground in front of her.

'Don't worry about it,' Sinon said as she got to her feet. Holding out her hand, the girl took it hesitantly. 'Sorry for getting angry at you,' Sinon apologized as she helped the girl up. 'I should've been watching where I was walking as well.' Seeing that the girl was still scared, Sinon sighed. 'Anyway, it's nice to see another female player in game.'

'Y-Yeah.'

'What's your name? Mines Sinon, nice to meet you.'

'Asuna.'

'Anyway,' Sinon said, looking away at the stalls. 'You have anywhere to stay?'

'Ah, no. This is my first time playing,' Asuna said as she put her hood back on. Sinon sighed internally as she pondered what to do.

 _I could leave her here,_ she thought. _But if I did that, she'd probably die out there in the fields. No, I have to help her!_ Turning to look at Asuna, Sinon smiled. 'I was thinking of renting a room at an inn, care to join?'

'S-Sure.'

The two girls walked in silence through the small town, passing by the new players that just arrived. Making their way to the inn, Asuna looked around at the stalls, the NPC's all smiling as they gazed at passing players.

'We're here,' Sinon said to Asuna, startling the girl. Walking through the entryway, Sinon suddenly stopped as she saw a blonde boy lounging on a chair, casually eating an apple. Realizing that somebody was looking at him, the boy looked up and smiled.

'Well, if it isn't Sinon,' he said, taking another bite from the apple. 'Surprised?'

'No, you just look a lot different than I expected,' Sinon replied curtly. Looking around, she noticed Kirito wasn't with him. 'Where's the idiot?' She asked Julian.

'Right here,' said an irritated voice. Turning around, Kirito stood behind the two girls, a frown on his face. 'Sinon, don't you look different,' he said, looking at her. Sinon still had the same gear she had started with, but now her hair was black, her eyes sharing the same color.

'You do to,' Sinon replied curtly as Kirito went and sat down next to Julian. Looking at the two boys, she realized that Kirito was actually quite good-looking, despite his face being a bit feminine. Julian was also handsome, rivaling Kirito's looks. His blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail, his fringe slightly covering his eyes. His blue eyes pierced whatever they looked at as if they was judging everything with the judgment of god.

'Umm, Sinon?' Turning her head, Sinon realized Asuna was hiding behind her, blushing furiously as she watched the two teenagers chatting.

'What's wrong? Sinon asked.

'Those two boys,' she said quickly.' Do you know them?'

'Unfortunately, I do,' Sinon sighed in response. 'Why, do you know them as well?'

'They saved me back in the forest,' Asuna mumbled. 'I was surrounded by a swarm of those Little Nepenthes after I killed one with a fruit on its head.' Sinon turned her head to look at Kirito and Julian, frowning as she did.

'I'm surprised those two even helped you at all,' Sinon said. 'In the beta, Kirito was ruthless. I don't know about Julian though.'

'Right.' Sighing, Sinon stepped towards the two teens and cleared her throat, gaining their attention. 'So, what do you two plan on doing tomorrow?'

'Well,' Kirito locked eyes with Julian who nodded. 'I was planning on going into the fields to start farming.' Looking at Sinon, he tilted his head slightly. 'Why do you want to know?'

'Mind if I join you with Asuna?' Sinon asked. 'I wanted to show her how to use sword skills.'

'Asuna?' Julian swallowed the remainder of his apple as he spoke. 'You mean the girl we saved who's currently standing behind you?'

'Y-Yes?' Asuna stepped out from behind Sinon and nervously bowed her head. 'Thank you for saving me back in the forest. If you didn't show up, I don't think I would've-'

'Stop right there,' Julian interrupted her as he held his hand up in a stop gesture. 'No need to thank us. It was the right thing to do. Besides,' he looked at Kirito who was silently nodding off. 'Take that experience as a lesson.'

'Lesson?'

'Yeah,' Julian stood up and stretched, a yawn following in its wake. 'Take what you did wrong in that situation and try not to do it again. For example,' Julian pushed Kirito and the boy reluctantly opened his eyes.

'Don't take on that many Little Nepenthes again,' Kirito finished Julian's sentence as he slowly got up. 'That was reckless of you, especially with the gear you have.' Without another word, Kirito walked away towards the NPC and rented a room as Julian stifled another yawn.

'Anyway, I suppose we'll see you ladies tomorrow,' Julian said as he bowed before walking away to Kirito who was waiting impatiently.

'Isn't he a charmer,' Sinon mumbled as she turned to Asuna who watched the two teens walk up the stairs. 'You want to rent a room with me for the night or get your own?'

'I'll stay with you for the night,' Asuna replied as she turned away, her cheeks slightly red.

 _A couple hours later..._

Sinon closed the door behind her quietly and sighed. Leaving her room, she walked down the steps then out the entrance, the night sky full of sparkling stars. Walking towards the fields, Sinon pulled out the dagger strapped to her waist on her back and looked at it. Her reflection greeted her with a frown as she sighed.

'I hate farming so much,' Sinon groaned as she reached the exit of the town.

'Same here.' Startled, Sinon whipped around to find Julian walking behind her, his hands in his pockets. 'Calm down, I wasn't following you,' Julian said, noticing Sinon's hand itching towards her dagger.

'Oh yeah?' Sinon's fingers twitched as they brushed past the handle of the dagger. 'What _are_ you doing then?'

'Going farming as well,' Julian replied. 'The field in the morning will be filled with players trying to increase their rank.' Without another word, Julian walked past Sinon into the field, the moonlight illuminating the field filled with mobs. Still suspicious of him, Sinon kept her hand close to her dagger as she followed suit. Blue lights illuminated the field, appearing for a couple of seconds then vanishing, Frenzy Boars spawning in with grunts.

'Hey,' Sinon said to Julian as she walked forwards. 'Where's the idiot?'

Julian unsheathed his sword and held it in one hand, despite it being a two-handed blade. 'By _idiot_ , I'll assume Kirito,' he replied as approached a boar with its back turned to him. 'Where he is, however, is quite easy. Just listen.'.

Sinon closed her eyes as she took in all the sounds from the fields. She could hear Frenzy Boars grunting, Julian's slow and steady breathing and... Was that the sound of something dying? Opening her eyes, Sinon looked around and saw a flash of blue and green polygons. 'So that's where he is,' she murmured as she watched a onyx-haired teen stab through the head of another Frenzy Boar, making it die instantaneously. 'How's he doing?' Sinon asked.

Julian smiled as he slashed through a boar, the monster not having enough time to even make a sound as it exploded into polygons. 'He's taking it pretty hard, not being able to see his family again, but I suppose that we all are.' Looking up at the night sky, Julian sighed. 'Kirito will be fine, I'm sure of it. Just worry about yourself Sinon, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.'

'Thanks Julian,' Sinon said as she walked past him, deeper into the fields. Fiddling with her dagger, Sinon looked around at the boars that peacefully walked around and sighed. Tonight was going to be a long night.

 **Okay, sorry for being late on the chapter upload. I'm going to have to change my schedule of uploading a chapter to both stories once per week and instead upload a chapter to one story per week. I'll try to alternate from this story to my GGO one but ehh, whatever. Also, my birthday also distracted me a bit, sorry about that. Anways, enjoy.**

 **-Striderm8**


	3. First Floor Boss Meeting

**A Different World**

 **So, I'm trying a different way or writing this chapter. Tell me all how you like it. If you like it, I'll keep doing it this way, if not... Well, I'll go back to how I used to write.**

 _1 month later..._

Kirito opened his eyes and stared at the blue sky, the cool breeze caressing his face. The green grass acted as his mattress, the sturdy oak tree shading him from the sunlight as the teen sighed. Sitting up, Kirito looked around at the green meadows filled with Frenzy Boars peacefully grazing the grass, listening to the sound of the birds singing in the background. Sighing, Kirito pushed himself up from the ground and dusted off the dirt that clung to his clothes. Stretching, he felt his bones crack as he yawned.

'That was a good nap,' Kirito murmured to himself as he started walking through the meadows, his boots stepping through the grass trying to drag him back down. Passing a Frenzy Boar, it looked up at Kirito with mild interest before looking back down and eating some grass. The wind pushed Kirito's hair away from his eyes as he reached the town's entrance.

 _*Ding*_

Sighing, Kirito fell into a jog as he entered the small town. The buildings on either side of him were all stalls with NPC's showing off their wares with a couple of player made items. Kirito ignored the yelling from them as he quickened his pace, running towards the meeting place. Making his way out of the business area of the town, Kirito found where he was supposed to meet everybody. He saw Sinon ahead of him waving.

'Hey!' Kirito yelled out as he made his way over. 'Sorry I'm late!' As he made his way over, Kirito looked over the meeting place. A coliseum cut in half stared the teen in the face, rows of seats facing a stage which sat forgotten in the middle. The rows were already filled with players chatting between each other, having a good time as they learned about each other.

'Just shut up and sit down,' Sinon glared at Kirito who instantly gulped as he reached her. 'Julian and Asuna have been waiting for you baka.'

'Heh, sorry,' Kirito replied as he sat down next to Sinon. 'I was having a nap.' Sitting down next to Sinon, Kirito waved to Julian who waved back. Asuna sat between Sinon and Julian, holding her hands together as she looked down at her feet. Sighing, Kirito looked out towards the stage as a blue-haired man walked out onto it, a shield on his arm.

Thrusting his sword into the stage, the man called out to the crowd. 'Hello everyone! My name's is Diabel, and my profession in this game is a knight in shining armor!' If Diabel's intention was too make everyone laugh at his icebreaker, it clearly worked. The players gathered laughed aloud as Diabel stood there smiling.

'Knight? This game doesn't have a class system you baka!' A player yelled out jokingly.

'Alright, alright,' Diabel's voice stopped everyone from speaking as he began to talk again, his voice amplified by the coliseum. 'Everyone here should know what we're really here for.' Sinon nodded with agreement as Diabel looked around at the crowd. 'Earlier this week, my party stumbled across the boss room for this floor.' The crowd of players erupted with yelling. Their hope had been partially restored, but if they could defeat the boss. Then maybe...

'Finally,' Kirito muttered to himself. The teen had been kicking himself internally for not being able to find the boss room, so he had been farming intensely to gain levels in the time he had.

'I believe,' Diabel said over the crowd which quickly died down. 'That we can defeat this boss and advance to the next floor. However,' Diabel looked around at the crowd that had formed. 'I must ask that every player under level 11 to please leave. The deaths that have accumulated this past month is ridiculously high, and I don't want to risk letting players die when they shouldn't have.' Murmurs of agreement filled the crowd and many stood up and left. Kirito looked around at the remaining players, raising his hand to cover his eyes from the sunlight that slowly blinded him.

'39, 42, 45. Not to bad.'

'Now that that's out of the way, does everyone have thi-'

'Hold it right there!' A player jumped down onto the stage and turned to the crowd, his thumb pointing at his face. 'The name's Kibaou, and I've got something to say!'

Diabel had a pained look on his face as he looked at Kibaou's hair; orange and spikey. It was reminiscent of a cactus. 'Well, Kiabou, what do you have to say?'

Kibaou spat at the ground as he looked at the crowd with a glare. 'Just one thing, and it's really been irritating me. The beta testers.' Murmurs rose from the crowd as Kirito, Julian and Sinon looked away. 'That's right, the beta testers.' Kibaou sneered as he spoke. 'When this death game started, they got up and ran to the best spots to hunt. They practically left us to die!' Looking around, Kibaou spotted Kirito who had his arms folded and head down and pointed directly at him. 'You! I bet you're a beta tester, aren't you? Fork over your items right now and apologize for leaving us players behind!'

Sighing, Kirito stood up and started daggers at Kibaou who gulped and took a step back. 'Why, exactly, should I hand over my items that I worked my ass for to you?'

Kibaou glared at Kirito and took a step forward. 'Why? Because you beta testers up and left us at the start, leaving us to die off!'

'They died because I left you players alone?' Kirito scoffed at the idea. Opening his menu, Kirito materialized a brown handbook into his hand. 'Listen, about a day after this death game began, all of you players should have received one of these. Am I correct?' Players sitting down nodded and murmured in agreement as they brought out the _Beginner's Handbook_ from their menu. 'Alright, I'll explain. Every player received this booklet with basic information on how to play and fight. It includes every minor detail to everything major in the game that you should know about.' Kirito waved the book about in his hand as he finished addressing the crowd.

'He's not lying, you know.' Sinon stood up next to Kirito holding a booklet in her hand as well. 'These booklets were handed out by beta testers themselves.'

Kirito nodded in agreement. ' When this booklet first came out, it was about 1cm thick. The beta testers came together and now look at how big it is.' Diabel sighed but didn't say anything as Kirito continued on.

'And don't forget to check the bottom of the basic combat guide area and basic survival area either,' Julian spoke out aloud, standing up as he did. 'It lists the name's of the players who wrote that part.'

'How to survive and basic combat skills...' The crowd murmured. 'Written by Kirito, Sinon and Julian.' The players in the rows all turned around stared at the three players standing up.

'Kirito,' the onyx-haired teen said, arms folded.

'Sinon,' the girl spoke aloud, looking away from the players.

'Julian,' the blonde warrior replied, flicking the hair out of his face with his hand.

'At your service,' they spoke in unison, Kirito bowing, Sinon curtseyed and Julian bowing like a butler mockingly. The crowd remained silent as they stared in wonder at the three beta testers, the cogs in their brains slowly turning as they finally recognized the three player's names from the leaderboards posted after the beta.

'Ahem,' Diabel's voice broke the silence as he looked at the beta testers. 'Thank you for your output, but if it is alright, I'd like to continue the meeting?' Kibaou turned his back in defeat and sat down in the front row before Diabel continued. 'Anyway, like I was saying before, does everyone have this booklet?' Diabel raised his hand, revealing a small brown booklet, similar to the _Beginner's Booklet_ in his hand. 'Everything in here tells us about the boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord. Apparently he has 4 health bars and summons Kobold sentinels to defend him. When his health hits the red, he'll switch to a Tulwar and his attack patterns will change.'

'Sorry,' Kirito and Julian called out at the same time. They looked at each other and Julian motioned for Kirito to continue with a smile.

'That information may be incorrect,' Kirito called out, ignoring the ugly sound coming from Kibaou. 'The boss may have changed for better or worse since the beta, so we should assume that that information may be incorrect.'

Diabel nodded in agreement before he addressed the crowd again. 'Well said. Anyway, we'll have raid parties of six players. Once we have the groups, we'll meet here tomorrow at around 8:30ish, then make our way over to the boss room. Meeting ended!'

Kirito sighed with relief and looked over at the others. Sinon had her arms folded and eyes closed, Asuna was still looking down at her hands and Julian was smiling as he watched the players mill out. 'Thank god that's over,' Kirito groaned as he stood up. 'I'll see you guys later tonight. I'm going to go upgrade my sword.' Leaving the coliseum, Kirito was approached by a tall, muscular black man, a two-handed axe on his back.

'Hey, Kirito,' the man said, hand out to shake. 'The name's Agil.'

'Nice to meet you, Agil,' Kirito said as he shook his hand in greeting.

'Just wanted to say good job on defending the beta testers like that,' Agil said to Kirito's surprise. 'I knew that all the beta testers hadn't abandoned the newbies. I was going to say something but you ended up beating me to it. You have my thanks.'

'You don't need to thank me,' Kirito replied as he stretched. 'I did what was right, that's all. Anyway, I got some things to attend to. See ya.'

'Sure thing, See ya Kirito.'

'Now,' Kirito said to himself as he walked towards the business area of the town, passing cottages and inns on his way. 'I wonder if there's a blacksmith that could help me.'

 _5 minutes later..._

Kirito walked slowly through the crowd crowding the stalls. NPCs shouted at him to check their wares out, whether it was weapons and armor to bread and apples. Kirito sighed as he trudged on through the dirt, cursing his luck. Looking up, he noticed a female player with brown hair sitting by an anvil at the end of the stalls, calling out to passing players to check our her wares.

'Cheap repairs! 50 col upgrades! Brand New Weapons!' The female blacksmith's voice cracked and she sighed, looking down at the ground in disappointment. 'I guess no-one wants my gear,' she murmured to herself. Grabbing the weapons she had made, she began to pack everything up.

'Excuse me,' Kirito said to the girl packing up her wares. 'Are you still open? I'd like to upgrade my sword.' When the girl heard these words, she immediately perked up and turned around, putting on a fake smile.

'O-Of course!' She stuttered, excited to have a customer. 'What did you want upgraded today?'

'Just this,' Kirito said, pulling out the annealed blade from its sheathe on his back. The blade glinted in the sunlight, catching the rays and reflecting it in a random direction.

'Okay then,' she said, taking the sword from Kirito and placing it on the anvil. 'How many times do you want the sword upgraded?'

'If it's possible, up to +7?' The blacksmith gulped as she turned to face the sword.

'I-I'll try my best, umm...'

'Kirito.'

'Kirito. I'll try my best. Do you have the materials required?'

'Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Right, here you go.' Kirito opened his menu and materialized the metal in his hand and handed it to the girl.

'The name's Lizbeth, Liz for short,' Liz said as she took the material from him and prepared it.

'Oh, okay then,' Kirito replied, unsure of what to say. Without another word, Liz grabbed her hammer and began hitting the sword, a metallic ring echoing in Kirito's ears. After the tenth hit, the sword glowed briefly, then turned back to normal. A menu popped up, showing the increased stats on the blade. _Annealed Blade - +1_

'Whew,' Liz muttered to herself. 'That's the first upgrade done.' Shaking her head to clear her head, Liz repeated the process five more times. Going to do the last upgrade, Liz hesitated as she raised her hammer.

'Something wrong?' Kirito asked, noticing the moment of hesitation.

'Well, it's, umm...' Liz went silent and lowered her arm. 'I usually fail doing upgrades above +6 on weapons,' Liz admitted, embarrassed at her skills.

'And?' Kirito said. 'NPCs usually can only go up to +3, maybe +4 if you're lucky. Even if you fail this upgrade, my sword will still be better than before.'

'You have a point there,' Liz laughed nervously before turning back to the sword. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated as she swung the hammer against the sword. One swing, two swings, three swings. A cold sweat broke out on Liz, making her shiver as she struck the blade. Raising the hammer for the last time, Liz brought it down on the annealed blade and gulped, waiting for the results. The sword glowed briefly, then returned to normal. A menu popped up, revealing the increased stats of the blade. _Annealed Blade - +7_

'See?' Kirito said. 'You _can_ do upgrades above +6.'

'Y-yeah, I _can_ do this.' Turning around and looking at Kirito, Liz smiled a real smile, something she hadn't done since Kayaba announced the beginning of the death game.

'So, how much do I owe you?' Kirito asked, opening his menu.

'Well, since you helped me out, this one can be for free,' Liz said.

'No, I can't do that,' Kirito replied. Clicking on his menu, he materialized 500 col and handed it to Lizbeth. 'You're just starting out Liz, you'll need the col.'

Liz sighed as she took the col. 'I suppose I won't win this argument. Well, here you go!' Liz took the col and grabbed Kirito's sword carefully. Watching her hands, she handed Kirito the blade which he admired for a few seconds before placing in his sheathe.

'Thanks Liz, I'll make sure to come back to you when I need upgrades,' Kirito said as he turned away. 'Seeya!'

'Make sure to come back soon!' Liz called out to Kirito, waving her goodbyes as he left. Happy at having one customer, Liz went to advertise her wares, but was stopped by a player coming towards her. Liz smiled as the player asked her to upgrade his armor and sword, her luck finally going golden.

 _15 minutes later..._

Kirito yawned as he made his way back into the fields, enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze playing with his hair as he stepped through the grass that beckoned him to lay down. As he found the tree that he had a nap at before, Kirito was surprised to see Sinon resting her back against the tree reading a book. What was even more surprising to Kirito was Julian standing nearby training Asuna. The onyx-haired teen watched Asuna strike a Frenzy Boar with a _Linear_ skill, amazed at the speed of the sword skill.

'She's amazing, isn't she?' Sinon said, not looking up from her book as she spoke to Kirito.

'Yeah,' he replied, still watching Asuna fighting Frenzy Boars. 'It's kinda scary, seeing the speed she has when using _Linear_.'

'Oh?' Sinon looked up from the book she was reading and looked at Kirito, a smirk planted firmly on her face. 'The #1 player in the beta is scared of a newbie using a rapier?'

Kirito scoffed at this comment as he walked over to Sinon and sat next to her. Resting his back against the sturdy root. 'Don't be silly, I'm just surprised, that's all.'

'Sure you are.' Sinon watched Kirito for a few seconds as he rested his head on his hands before closing his eyes. Sighing, she looked back at her book and began reading again, enjoying the peaceful scenery. Kirito opened an eye and took a peek at Sinon before closing his eye again and smiling. Sinon noticed this and frowned, but didn't say anything. Instead, she flicked the page and moved onto chapter two of the book, _'Ribbons of Fate.'_

 **Alright. Hope you guys/gals/peoplewhosgenderisanattackhelicopter enjoyed this chapter. I legit sped through it within 24 hours and I'm somewhat proud of myself. Tell me what you think of the way I wrote this chapter. I tried focusing more on describing the surroundings alongside the 5 senses whilst writing, but if you peeps don't like that, I'll go back to how I was writing before. Anyway, if you have anything to say or critical analyzation on this chapter, PM me or drop a review. Anything to help me as an author works.**

 **Don't forgot to follow/favorite, all that good stuff. Heck, even follow me or favorite me if you want to as well.**

 **-Striderm8**


	4. Illfang and Despair

**A Different World – Striderm8**

 **I'm pissed off. I had a fantastic battle scene already written that was well over 2,000 words long, and I was really happy with it. But nooooo, LIFE IS A FUCKING BITCH! I somehow deleted it and now I have to rewrite the whole fucking thing again. Sorry about the language, but I'm really made about this. Right now, I'm wrath instead of Sloth and Pride. *Sigh* Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I'll fix it up if there's anything major missing.**

A large door engraved with a large Kobold Warrior stood proudly in front a crowd of players that talked amongst each other. The raiding parties spoke to each other excitedly, hiding their true feelings as they waited for Diabel to arrive. Kirito sighed as he kicked the ground, creating a small cloud of dirt that traveled a few meters before disappearing. He could smell the sweat from nearby players, their heavy armor making it extremely hot for them. The players wearing heavy armor shuffled unconsciously, their shirt irritating their skin.

'God, that's disgusting.' Kirito looked to his right and saw Sinon standing there, arms folded and eyes closed as she waited patiently for Diabel to arrive. She had insisted that they arrived at least 30 minutes early so they could check their armor and weapons. Instead, they ended up arriving an hour early and stood around doing nothing.

'Heh, you don't say,' Kirito replied as he turned and looked straight at the door, envisioning Illfang the Kobold Lord standing in the center of the room. 'Good thing you wear light armor, isn't it?' Sinon raised an eyebrow at Kirito at this remark.

'Light armor is the best suited for my build,' she replied curtly. 'What about you, Kirito? How come you don't wear heavy armor?'

'The thought never crossed my mind,' Kirito said, taking his gaze away from the boss door and looking around. 'Anyway, it would slow me down, and I prefer to be light and fast. Besides,' Kirito shrugged as he looked at Sinon. 'If you're good enough with a sword, you don't need the extra protection, do you?'

'Oh, shut up Kirito,' Sinon said as she turned her head away, blushing furiously as the onyx-haired teen brought up a memory from the beta. She had just logged in and ran out to the fields to learn how to fight, not bothering with what weapon she was given to fight with. Soon after, Sinon ran into a tall teen who happened to be Kirito's SAO beta avatar. They had decided to stick together to learn how to play when Sinon decided to try out the sword she had. The moment she pulled it from the sheathe, Sinon had fumbled the blade which made Kirito laugh aloud. Glaring at him, she attempted to stab a nearby Frenzy Boar and failed miserably, somehow stabbing herself in the process. As Sinon watched her health bar reach zero, Kirito was on the ground in tears, laughing so hard that he was wheezing. She was beginning to feel embarrassed just remembering the first day of the closed beta.

'Sinon! Kirito!' Pushing aside the memories, Sinon turned around and saw Julian and Asuna approaching them.

'Hey Asuna, Julian,' Sinon said as the two players reached them.

'Julian,' Kirito smiled and gave his friend a fist bump. As the two emerged themselves in conversation, Sinon sighed and turned to Asuna.

'Boys,' she grumbled, making Asuna giggle. 'Anyway, how was the trip up here?'

'It was alright, I suppose,' Asuna replied as she looked down at the floor. 'We got distracted on the way here because Julian wanted to break in his new blade.'

'Heh, sorry,' Julian said, interrupting their conversation. 'Had to try it out before the boss fight.' Sighing, he pulled Kirito into the circle he had just made and looked at Sinon. 'Nice armor, Sinon,' Julian said with a smile. 'When'd you get that?'

Sinon gave Julian a response of, 'Hmph!' Before looking away.

'Yeah, I suppose that armor is pretty nice,' Kirito said as he admired her new set of light armor. Sinon blushed at this, but Kirito ignored that. Sinon had obtained a leaf green jacket mixed with speckles of dark green that reached just underneath her shoulder blades. She still had the beginner's light chest-plate armor, but had had it enhanced to + 3, making it better than most light armors on floor 1. Sinon also had a green miniskirt on, black leggings falling into black boots that reached up past her ankles.

'Would you stop looking at me like that?' Kirito snapped out of his gaze as he realized that he was staring at Sinon, making her blush like crazy.

'Gah, s-sorry,' Kirito said before scratching the back of his neck nervously. 'Didn't realize that I was staring.' Sighing, he turned to Julian and looked at his gear. 'Woah, don't you think that you're going a bit too flashy with this?'

Julian grinned as he looked at Kirito. 'What do you mean, Kirito? This isn't flashy at all!' Taking a step back, Julian flashed a smile at him as he unsheathed his sword hanging from his waist and rested it on his shoulder. Julian had donned shoulder-plate armor on both arms, both made of a bright, white metal. He wore a black leather vest underneath the straps which disappeared underneath two massive belts which crossed over each other and held up the sheathe of the sword. Julian also sported two pieces of leg armor that went from his knees down to his ankles, also made of white-metal. Long black pants underneath his armor disappeared into white shoes with a black underside that made barely any sound when he walked. The blade on his shoulder shone brightly in the dungeon even though there was barely any light.

'Eh, sure,' Kirito muttered, watching the people around him turn around and admire Julian and all his flashiness. 'You are actually a beacon of light in this dark, musty dungeon.'

'Ahh, come on Kirito,' Julian said as he grabbed Kirito by the shoulders and pulled him in close. 'I'm can't be that attractive that I light up the room, can I?' The onyx-haired teen didn't respond to this, making Julian laugh. 'Oh well, you'll get your chance soon enough Kirito.'

Kirito sighed as Julian walked off. 'Show off,' he murmured under his breath.

'Hey! You can't talk!' Sinon said as she swung a friendly punch into Kirito's arm.

'Ouch! Hey, Sinon, what's that for?' Kirito exclaimed as he backed up, feeling the spot where she punched him.

'Hmph!' Sinon turned her back to him and faced Asuna. 'You can't call him a show off as you are one yourself!'

'You make a good point there, Sinon san,' Kirito replied cheerfully as he stepped beside her and patted her on the head. Sinon blushed and looked down at her feet, hands clenched.

'Umm, excuse me Kirito kun?' Asuna said nervously, raising her head to look at the teen.

'No need for the honorifics,' the teen replied as he focused on her, taking his hand away from Sinon's head. The girl sighed in relief and glared at Kirito, ready to punch him again. 'What's up?'

'Ahh, well,' Asuna looked away nervously as she spoke. 'I was wondering why you hadn't upgraded or got new armor like the others yet.'

Caught off guard with this question, Kirito took a step back as he yelped with surprise. 'Well, you know, I just don't need new armor yet, that's all. I totally didn't run out of Col yet at all...' Trailing off, Kirito tried to dart off, only for Sinon to grab his shirt and yank him back.

'Ohh, so that's why you still have the starting gear equipped,' Sinon said as she moved her face closer to his, giving him a smirk as she got ready to punch the teen right in the nose.

'I'm not going to escape this, am I?' Kirito muttered as he planted his head in his hand. Before Sinon could mercilessly torture him, a voice called out, 'Silence!', making all the players instantly shut up.

Turning towards the door, Diabel appeared from the shadows just as the time turned to 9:00.

'Sorry for the delay guys!' He called out as he faced the raiding parties. 'Anyway, I'll go over the basics real quick before we enter.' Receiving a massive groan from the gathered players, Diabel laughed nervously before he addressed the crowd again. 'Sorry, but it is essential for us to know our roles before we enter.' Clearing his throat, Diabel began telling every raiding party what their jobs were. Kirito sighed as they went through the long process.

 _10 minutes later…_

'Alright, let's go!' Diabel shouted as he pushed the door open. With shouts of confidence, the raiding parties ran into the dark boss room. As the last player entered, the door shut quietly behind them, shutting out the last source of light they had. The raiding parties began murmuring between each other nervously, waiting for Illfang to appear. Suddenly, pillars lining the room burst into life with fire, making the room explode with light. Kirito's eyes narrowed as they adjusted to the new light source before he grabbed the hilt of his sword.

' _ROWGRH!'_

Illfang the Kobold Lord dropped from the ceiling and landed with a smash in the center of the room, creating a mini shockwave. Tall, muscular and with red fur, the Kobold Lord stood well over two meters tall. Glaring at the players with copper-red eyes, Illfang pulled out its weapons; a large bone axe and a shield in its hands.

'Remember the strategy!' Diabel yelled out as he pointed his sword at the boss. 'Tanks, move forward and-'

'KILL IT!' The players all yelled as they rushed Illfang, weapons brandished above their heads.

'YOU IDIOTS!' Diabel yelled as he tried to stop them, his attempts in vain. 'You'll die if you don't-!' Kirito looked over at the self-proclaimed knight as he fell to his knees, the tip of a dagger sticking through his gut.

'Diabel!' Kirito sprinted over to the blue-haired man and slid to a stop next to him. Propping him up, Kirito brought out a health potion and popped the lid off.

'Idiots,' Julian muttered to himself as the first wave off players were sent flying backwards, health in the low yellow. 'Kirito! Where are you!' Looking around. Julian saw Kirito talking to Diabel who was injured, a dagger placed firmly in his gut. 'Damnit,' Julian said through gritted teeth before running at Illfang, sword glowing a bright blue.

'No,' the knight said weakly as his health reached the yellow. 'This is for the greater good.' Kirito was shocked at this comment.

'Shut up,' the teen said, shaking his head as grabbed the dagger and pulled it out, making Diabel groan in pain. _Damn,_ he thought to himself. _Where did the attacker go?_ Looking around, Kirito saw someone slip out of the boss room door unnoticed. _I'll have to leave them be for now._ 'I'm not letting you die, Diabel!'

'Heh.' The knight looked up at the players attacking Illfang, its first health bar half gone. 'Death seems like a utopia right about now.' Diabel turned his head to Kirito, a smile of despair on his pale face. 'Just leave me be-!'

'I won't let you die,' Kirito muttered to the knight as he shoved the potion into his mouth. Forcing Diabel to drink it, Kirito waited until the potion was empty before tossing it behind him, ignoring the _crack_ indicating the durability of the potion reached zero. Resting the man onto the ground to rest, Kirito watched Illfang roar in anger and swing wildly, knocking back multiple players.

'Kirito!' The teen spotted Julian waving at him from behind Illfang, motioning for him to come to his side.

'Coming!' Grabbing his sword from the dusty ground, Kirito stood up and began sprinting towards Illfang, passing players who were drinking health potions. The Kobold Lord roared again and swung its axe wildly, missing Kirito by inches. As he reached Illfang's legs, Kirito slid through them, bringing his glowing-blue sword overhead in an arc that left a long, red gash through the Kobold Lord's now non-existent private part.

' _GROUGHWR!'_

Getting up from the slide, Kirito darted forward as Illfang swung its arm behind it's back violently, missing the teen by inches before the other players began attacking the boss again. Without turning around, Kirito kept running towards Julian before coming to a stop beside the blonde warrior.

'Good, you're here,' Julian said to Kirito as he turned around and watched the raid parties attack.

'What are you planning on doing?' Kirito said as he sheathed his sword before stretching.

'Well,' Julian pointed across the room towards Sinon and Asuna. 'As you can see, our party is currently too busy helping the idiots who keep jumping in and getting hurt.' Julian sighed as he watched more players get sent flying backwards by Illfang.

'So, we just need to buy some time?' Kirito asked as he pulled out his annealed blade, Julian also pulling out his weapon.

Julian smiled as Kirito's sword began to glow a light blue. 'So glad that I've got a person with brains on my side.' Without waiting for a signal, the two teens sprinted forwards, both blades now glowing a bright, light blue. Illfang sensed the teens approaching and turned around roaring, axe at the ready.

'Tsk!' Kirito slowed down as Julian darted forwards with his sword at the ready. With a shout of determination, the blonde's sword connected with Illfang's axe before sending both stumbling.

'Switch!'

'I've got you!' Kirito shouted as he sprinted forwards. Jumping up, Kirito yelled as he activated _Horizontal_ , making the boss roar in pain. Kirito hesitated as he fell towards Illfang, not sure whether the boss would recover in time to hit him. 'Fuck it.' Taking a risk, Kirito landed underneath Illfang and activated _Uppercut_ , sending the boss flying into the air. But it wasn't without a penalty. Illfang's tail whipped around and caught Kirito in the stomach, smacking him all the way back to the wall.

'Kirito! Damnit.' Julian glared at Illfang as it landed, smashing the ground underneath it. Without realizing it, Julian was running towards Illfang with his sword ready. Leaping into the air, the teen waited until he was above Illfang before stabbing downwards with his sword. Illfang screamed in pain as Julian's blade went straight through its skin, the sword sinking in all the way to the hilt. 'Attack damnit!' Julian shouted at the stunned players. Pulling out the sword, Julian jumped away as the players ran in shouting, weapons brandished.

'Ouch,' Kirito muttered as he sat up, rubbing his head. Looking around, he saw Julian shouting orders at the players as Illfang stood up and roared again, only two health bars remaining. 'Heh? We did that much damage,' Kirito murmured to himself as tried to stand up, only to fall back to the ground as his ribs flared up in pain. 'Why can't I move?'

'Maybe,' Kirito looked over and saw Sinon walking over with his sword in her hand. 'It's because the game has more realistic pain factors now.'

'Hmm, I hadn't thought of that,' Kirito said to himself before Sinon sighed and hit him on the head.

'Dummy,' she said to herself as she dropped the blade on the ground beside the teen. 'Check your health before you do anything else.

 _My health…_ 'Crap!' Kirito exclaimed as he saw it in the yellow. 'I'll need a heal-ouch.' Grabbing at his sides, Kirito winced as he felt pain flare up again.

'Geeze, you're hopeless,' Sinon sighed as she knelt down and brought out a health potion. Popping the lid off, she handed the potion to Kirito who muttered a thanks before draining the liquid.

'Gahh!' Kirito winced as he felt the thick liquid slowly run down his throat. 'This tastes completely different from the beta.' Kirito grabbed his blade and stood up, sighing in relief as he felt all the pain his body fade away. 'Thanks, Sinon,' Kirito muttered, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.

'Hmm?' Sinon smiled sweetly as she moved closer to Kirito until her face was mere centimeters away from his. 'What was that, Kirito san?'

Kirito's cheek went slightly red as he looked away. 'T-Thanks,' the teen murmured before pushing his way past Sinon. The girl smiled as she watched the embarrassed teen run away towards the boss, happy that she finally had managed to make him say thanks. While she was stuck in her happy paradise, Sinon felt something hit her in the head and looked up, shocked to see an empty potion disappearing into green and blue polygons. Glaring at the teen, she watched Kirito stick his tongue out at her before turning around and joining Julian in the fight.

'Pull back!' Julian commanded as Illfang arched his back and roared. The boss brought down its axe and smashed it into the ground, missing a retreating player by inches. Before it could do anything else, Kirito leaped up onto its shoulder and slashed at its neck, leaving a red gash before jumping off and avoiding the hand that swiped at him.

'Hey,' Kirito said as he landed on the ground and began walking in Julian's direction. 'How's the fight going?'

Julian scratched his chin as he watched Illfang raise his axe over his shoulder. 'Well,' the Kobold Lord brought the weapon down with brute force. 'It's going alright, I suppose.' Before the blade hit Kirito, he whipped around and yelled as his blade glowed a bright blue.

Activating _Vertical,_ Kirito deflected the blade as he shouted, 'Switch!' Before Julian could move, Asuna darted forwards with her rapier, the blade glowing as she moved closer. When she was in range, Asuna shouted and activated _Quadruple Pain_ , her rapier moving so fast that it was a blur. Illfang became stunned and began to fall back, only for Sinon to jump over its head and stab it right between the eyes with her dagger, making the beast roar in pain as the second last health bar disappeared.

'Geezes,' Julian sighed as he rested his head in his palm. 'You guys really just going to do that after I ordered a _retreat_?'

'Yep,' Kirito said as he reached the teen and turned around. Asuna backed up and came next to Julian as Sinon fell into place next to Kirito. The four players stood in front of the raiding parties as Illfang rose to its feet. Growling, it dropped the shield and hurled the axe at the players. Kirito and Julian both grinned as their swords began to glow. Both activated different sword skills and deflected the axe into the ground with ease. Illfang glared at the two teens before reaching behind its back and grabbing its katana.

'Oh shit,' Kirito said, eyes widening as Illfang brandished the blade.

'What?' Julian asked the teen, noticing his eyes wide open.

'That's not a Tulwar,' he murmured. 'That's a Nodachi.'

'Damnit.' Julian whipped around. 'Watch out! The weapon Illfang is using is a Nodachi!'

Murmurs ran through the players as Illfang roared.

'You mean the info's different from the beta?'

'So, the beta testers lied then?'

'We won't be able to trust them anymore.'

Julian sighed as he backed up with the others, avoiding Illfang's wild swing. 'Just make sure to watch out for its attack patterns. They would have changed by now.' The players behind murmured in agreement before tightening their grips on their weapons.

'Ready?' Sinon asked Kirito as he held his sword by his side.

'Of course,' he replied, stifling a yawn with his other hand. 'Once we beat this boss, I'm going to have a nice nap on the second floor.'

'Tsk. You and your damn naps,' Sinon muttered as Julian stepped forward and pointed his sword at Illfang.

'Tanks! Move forward and- 'Julian stopped speaking as a man with blue hair rushed past him.

'Diabel!' Kirito shouted as he stepped forward, only to stop in shock as the man turned his head towards him.

 _Despair_

Julian watched in shock as Diabel screamed, a scream of despair as he attempted to stab Illfang. The Kobold Lord snorted as if Diabel was a joke before raising his Nodachi. With a swift slash, Diabel cried out in pain as a thick, red gash appeared on his gut. Kirito gritted his teeth and sprinted forwards as Illfang jumped up to the ceiling, flipping so its feet hit the ceiling before leaping back towards Diabel. The boss roared as it flew towards the ground at an amazing speed, sword raised to strike at the dying player. As the blade got closer towards Diabel, he smiled as he watched imminent death approach.

'DIABEL!' Shocked, the knight looked at Kirito as he fell through the sky and watched as the teen leaped into the air, sword glowing a bright blue. The onyx-haired teen activated _Vertical_ and sent Illfang crashing into the ground before grabbing Diabel carefully and falling to the ground.

Julian watched Kirito instantly open his menu and spawn in a health potion, only for Diabel to put his hand on his arm and whisper something, making the teen stiffen. The self-proclaimed knight smiled sadly as the teen remained frozen, the hand holding the potion shaking. Diabel's health bar disappeared, his avatar began to glow brighter and brighter, and then… it exploded. Kirito looked at his arms, searching for the knight, only to see a green polygon bounce off his arm before slowly fading away. Julian watched in shock with the other players as the onyx-haired teen stood up, arms by his sides.

'Damnit,' Sinon muttered to herself. Stepping forward with Asuna mirroring her movements, the girls were stopped by Julian who had his arms raised to block their path.

'Why are you stopping me?' Sinon asked angrily. 'Kirito's in no shape to fight right now!'

'She's right! Why are you stopping us?' Asuna said, the hand holding the rapier beginning to shake with anger.

Julian shook his head as he watched Kirito slowly approach Illfang who snorted angrily. 'No,' he said sadly to the girls. 'This is his fight, and his fight alone.' Sinon and Asuna were shocked, but didn't advance any further as Illfang raised its sword. Kirito came to a stop in front of the Kobold Lord and looked it directly in the eyes, a murderous glare in his eyes. Illfang, caught off guard by the glare, took a step back, making its first, and final, mistake.

'Die,' Kirito muttered under his breath as he leaped towards Illfang and activated _Horizontal_ , creating a long, red line of pixels against the Kobold Lord's throat. Without hesitating, Kirito activated another sword skill: _Horizontal Arc._ Slashing from the left, Kirito made a large gash in Illfang's gut, then slashed from the right, making the gash even larger. Illfang screamed in pain as Kirito then used _Uppercut_ , sending the boss flying towards the ceiling. Landing with a grunt, Kirito darted backwards as Illfang began descending back to earth.

'It's over,' Julian murmured as the boss roared at Kirito, still in the air. The teen's sword glowed a bright blue as he vanished, only to reappear right in front of Illfang. Yelling, Kirito struck downwards with all his might, Illfang screaming in pain as its body was cut in half. With an explosion as the two halves of Illfang erupted into thousands of blue and green polygons, a message popped up above the center of the room.

 _Congratulations_

The raiding parties stayed silent as Kirito fell to the ground in the center of the room, stunned at the performance they just saw. The teen got to his feet and accepted the final hit reward from the boss before sheathing his sword.

 _Clap. Clap. Clap._

Agil stepped forward out of the crowd, clapping. Soon enough, everybody else was clapping as well, congratulating Kirito on the kill. Julian leaned against a pillar and sighed as Kirito made his way towards him, hair covering his face.

'Hey, you alright?' Kirito nodded his head as he looked up at Julian.

 _Sadness_

'Y-Yeah, Diabel just said something that shook me, that's all.' Kirito sighed before looking up at the players. They had finished clapping and were talking amongst each other, happy that the boss fight was finally over.

'Why?' The players moved out of the way as Kibaou walked towards Kirito, head down as he walked. 'Why did you let Diabel die?' He looked up at Kirito, glaring as tears ran down his face. 'WHY DID YOU LET HIM DIE!?' The crowd of players began to murmur between each other, pointing at Kirito as he grimaced and turned away. 'You knew the boss's attack patterns, didn't you?' Kibaou pointed an accusing finger at Kirito. 'Why didn't you tell us, you damn beta tester? If you did, Diabel would still be alive right now!'

Kirito didn't say a thing, his face still covered in shadows. He looked up at Julian and whispered something.

'Understood,' Julian said with a smile as Kirito turned around to Kibaou with a smile.

'Diabel?' Kirito said with a menacingly look on his face. 'That idiot? I already saved him once from dying today, and you're blaming me for his death?' Kirito paced up and down through the players as he spoke, his footsteps echoing throughout the boss room. 'Correct me if I'm wrong, but who was the one who took action against the boss when all of you were staring at Diabel dying?'

'W-Well,' Kibaou looked away before turning back and shouting at Kirito. 'If Diabel had known of the boss's attack patterns, he wouldn't have died, would he?'

Kirito buried his face in his hands as he chuckled. It soon turned into a laugh, making Kibaou back up nervously. 'How thick are you?' Kirito laughed, grabbing at his stomach. He could feel the hate rising from the other players as he spoke. 'Diabel was a beta tester as well, you idiot. I recognized him from the meeting the other day when he addressed the whole crowd. Besides,' Kirito wiped away the tears from his eyes and gestured at everybody. 'All of you gathered here today are _much_ more skilled than the beta testers. Hell, they pissed themselves when they _saw_ the first boss.'

Kibaou trembled with rage as he listened to Kirito speak. 'Y-You're worse than a beta tester. You're a monster. A cheater! A-A, a beater!' Kibaou cried out, the other players joining him.

'Hmm,' Kirito scratched his chin with his hand as he pondered. 'A beta tester and a cheater, ehh?' Opening his menu, Kirito looked for the final hit reward in his inventory. 'That's right,' he murmured before addressing the crowd. 'I'm a beater! I'm going to clear this game, so don't fall behind you slowpokes!' Finding the item, Kirito equipped the _Coat of Midnight_ , letting a black leather coat fall into place around his body. Walking past all the players, Kirito smiled as he felt all the player's hate directed at him.

'Hold it right there.' Kirito sighed as Julian stepped out in front of him, sword pointed right at his chest. 'What's your name, _Beater_?' Kirito smiled as he slowly raised his hand to the hilt of his blade. In the blink of an eye, Kirito pulled the blade out and rushed Julian, meeting him halfway as their blades connected, the sound of metal clanging against each other, echoing throughout the room.

'Kirito.'

'Well, Kirito,' Julian said as he sheathed his sword and turned his back to him. 'I'll let you off for today, but I'll let you know that if you let another player die intentionally, I _will_ come for you.'

'Heh, I'd like to see you try.' Walking past the blonde warrior, Kirito sheathed his sword and made his way towards the door to the second floor. As he climbed the steps, Kirito looked behind him and glimpsed Julian getting the support from the other players. As he reached the top of the steps, he saw Asuna and Sinon staring at him. Without hesitation, Kirito winked at the two girls before turning around and pushing open the door.

Walking up the steps, Kirito began to cry as he remembered Diabel's final word before he died.

' _I'm glad that I got to meet you again, Kazuto Kirigaya.'_

 **Alright, sorry for a late upload, I was really pissed when I somehow deleted the chapter, and after that, I kinda lost inspiration to re-write that part. I've had this document open for a couple of days and ended up just staring at it before watching YouTube videos. Also, with the ending? I ain't changing that. Why? Because it may have something to do with the next chapter. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to follow/favorite if you haven't already, and share this story around with your friends if you want to. It'll help me out** _ **greatly.**_

 **-Striderm8**


	5. Floor 2

**A Different World**

 **You should probably read the bold text this time around.**

 **Sorry for not uploading to this story for a while, I've been enjoying writing my GGO story for a while now, so I took a break on this story. Anyway, this chapter is well over 4,000 words because I felt bad for not updating so this is my way of apologizing. Enjoy: :)**

Kirito shielded his eyes as he reached the top of the stairs, sunlight blinding him. Walking out into the light, the teen blinked rapidly as he looked down upon a savanna, the wind pushing his brand-new coat backwards.

'This place seems more dangerous than before,' Kirito muttered to himself as he looked down the cliff he stood on. A large plain was in front of him that was littered with large stones and trees that provided barely any shade, table-topped mountains looming over the plains that was littered with multiple caves. Kirito couldn't see anything in the caves, but he knew from experience that underground rivers ran through them, the crystal-clear water safe enough to drink. Sighing, the teen made his way towards the stairs that led down to the ground from the cliff, the steps made of rough stone covered with dust. Reaching the ground, Kirito noticed the large ox-type monsters wandering around, snorting as they kicked dust up. 'I hope I can avoid these mobs on my way to Urbus.'

 _15 minutes later…_

'I have the worst luck, EVER!' Kirito sprinted towards a once flat-topped mountain with a crater embedded into it, a city existing in the crater. City walls outlined the outer rim of the crater, a city gate visible. Urbus lay a couple hundred meters from Kirito, who, unfortunately, was being chased by a horde of earthen black-bee monsters covered in green stripes with an ice picked-size stinger. The teen had managed to avoid the ox-type mobs, but ended up running into a horde of Windwasps which began to chase him mercilessly.

 _BBBBZZZZTTT!_

'Damnit!' Kirito slid to a stop, kicking up dust as he turned and faced the Windwasps flying at him. The beasts determined to kill their prey, they dived at the teen who gasped for breath. Kirito kept his ground, his annealed blade at his side as the Windwasps approached. Concentrating, Kirito grunted as he swung his blade, slashing at the first wasp that came at him with its stinger out in front of it. Cutting it straight across the stomach, he killed the beast with a critical hit, blue and green particles rising from the exploded form. Slicing to the right, Kirito killed the second wasp that charged him before thrusting forwards and stabbing another Windwasp in the stomach.

BZBBZZZZT!

'Damnit,' the beater gasped as one of the beasts flew past him, its stinger grazing his side. Leaping backwards, the teen counted the remaining number of enemies. 'Five, six, seven… Nine left?' Kirito thought of his remaining options; he could try and run to Urbus, but he would most likely run out of stamina considering the remaining distance, or he could kill the Windwasps following him and walk the rest of the way.

'These things never used to be a pain,' Kirito sighed before smiling, his lust for battle beginning to take over, sweat running down his face. Tightening his grip on the sword, he ran forwards, catching the beasts off guard. Leaping into the air, Kirito yelled as he brought his blade overhead in an arc, slicing one wasp in half. Grunting, he twisted in the air and stabbed a wasp that tried to sting him in the back, killing it. Falling back down to the ground, one of the beasts charged the beta tester and headbutted him, sending him flying into the earth.

CRACK!

'Argh!' Kirito clenched his teeth as he sat up, clutching his right arm, dust covering his black coat. Trying to move his right arm, Kirito winced as pain flared up, convincing him that the fall had broken it. Ignoring his health bar entering the yellow after the fall, Kirito rose and picked up the annealed-blade with his left hand, wincing in pain.

'I won't have enough time to heal after this,' he muttered before sprinting towards the remaining seven Windwasps. His right arm trailing behind him uselessly, Kirito leapt up into the air and slashed sideways with a glowing annealed blade, killing two wasps with the sword skill _Horizontal._ As he began to fall, his brain screamed _DANGER_ as a Windwasp thrusted stinger first at him from behind. Grunting, the beater spun mid-air, swinging his blade as he did. By pure chance, Kirito's blade connected with the beast before the stinger hit him. Before the wasp died, Kirito used it as a platform and jumped even higher into the sky as it exploded into polygons. Reaching the peak of the jump, the teen's eyes narrowed as the remaining three wasps charged him from underneath, the moonlight shining down on them. Bringing his sword above his head, Kirito grinned as he brought it down in an arc and sliced the first wasp in half as he fell, using his momentum to do a front-flip. As he came out of it, Kirito activated _Vertical_ , the sword skill making the annealed blade glow a bright blue before it slashed through the second Windwasp. Grunting, Kirito spun around in the air and stabbed downwards towards the earth.

'Gotcha!' Piercing the last wasp, Kirito sighed with relief as it died with a screech before exploding. Descending back to the ground, the teen landed with a _thud_ as he collapsed. Breathing heavily, Kirito brought his right arm up and opened the menu, wincing as pain gnawed at the broken bones. Quickly going to items, the teen materialized a healing potion and quickly popped open the lid before quickly gulping down the thick, unpleasant liquid which tasted of medicine from the real world. Sighing with relief as his health bar became full, Kirito moved his right arm as the bones mended themselves, clicking back into the place like nothing had happened to them in the first place. Groaning, the beater rose to his feet and sheathed his sword before trudging off towards Urbus, desperate to take a nap and to clean his coat free of dust.

 _Back on the 1_ _st_ _floor_

'Why aren't we heading to the second floor?' Asuna asked Julian as she followed him and Sinon back into the inn they were staying at, the stars above shining brightly.

'With the state the players are in,' Sinon said aloud as they entered the lobby. 'There's no chance we would be able to get to Urbus.'

'Sinon is right,' Julian said as he turned around, facing the confused teen. 'To get to Urbus, you need to travel roughly 1km from the exit to the town, and that means passing through the plains which is teeming full of mobs.' Sighing, the blonde teenager collapsed into a nearby sofa and yawned loudly. 'They've really ramped up the difficulty on this game, haven't they, Sinon?'

'They have,' she replied curtly before sitting down in a chair, Asuna following suit. 'Though, they've compensated for that by making you receive more Col and EXP in return.'

'What's with the coldness?' Julian asked before receiving a glare. 'Ah, that, I'll explain later. Anyway, you are right about the rewards. They certainly are much better than before, but the risk is also much higher than usual.' Sighing again, Julian rose from the seat before heading off towards the stairs. 'I'll send you ladies a message when the teleport gate is open. For now, rest.' Without another word, Julian left an angry Sinon and confused Asuna behind in the lobby.

'Bastard,' Sinon muttered to herself before sighing. Turning to Asuna, she gave the girl a smile. 'Sorry about that. I'm going to go out and farm. What're you going to do?'

'I'll go with you,' Asuna replied instantly, surprising Sinon. 'I need to get stronger in order to survive in this world.'

'Suit yourself,' Sinon replied before standing up and leaving the inn. _That's right_ , she thought to herself as Asuna followed. _I need to get stronger as well, and prove him wrong…_

 _The next day…_

 _9:30…_

'Glad you could make it,' Julian said with a smile as a tired Sinon and Asuna approached him. 'I received a message from Agil saying that the gate to Urbus is now open!' As the two girls stepped up onto the teleport gate, Julian stepped into it and said aloud, 'Teleport, Floor 2. Urbus!'

'Come on,' Sinon said to Asuna as Julian dispersed into blue particles. Stepping forwards into the gate, the two teens mirrored Julian's words and disappeared into blue particles. Opening her eyes, Sinon was greeted with the familiar sight of Urbus, a large town set right in a crater inside a mountain. Looking around, dull buildings made of the same brownish stone sat next to each other, some buildings with signs hanging above. Simple stone pathways lay covered in dust, trees providing shade from the sides of the paths. A carriage being pulled by two horses with a NPC controlling them tilted his hat in greetings before looking forwards.

'Enjoy yourselves,' Julian said before walking off towards the exit of Urbus, the teen equipping his gear as he walked, some dust rising from the path.

'Sure, like I care.' Sinon turned to Asuna as she pointed towards the blacksmith. 'Before we go out to the fields, I'm buying you better gear. Let's go.' Walking towards the generic building, Asuna followed Sinon to the counter as the onyx-haired girl looked through the NPC's wares, glaring at every weapon as if they had secrets. Asuna sighed as she came to a stop next to Sinon.

 _This is going to take a while,'_ she thought to herself.

 _8 Hours Later…_

Kirito yawned as he stretched his arms above his head, his back resting against the sign on the roof. Looking downwards, he watched the NPC blacksmith close the store for the day, the lights hanging on the outside of the building lighting up as the sun began to fall, the moon slowly rising to take its place. A cool breeze swept in, ruffling Kirito's hair as he stood up, his Coat of Midnight pushing against his body.

 _DING!_

'Finally,' Kirito said before walking to the edge of the roof. Stepping off, he landed with a grunt, knees bending slightly from the fall. Sighing, the teen walked out of the shadows between the buildings onto the pathway, walking towards the exit. Hands in his pockets, Kirito ignored the new players wandering the town, and instead focused on the hooded figure ahead of him leaning against the gate that led out of the town.

'Kii-bou,' the info broker said in greeting, nodding her head in his direction.

'Glad to see you haven't changed, Argo,' Kirito said in response as he reached one of his few trustworthy companions from the beta. Leaning against the gate, Kirito blended in with the shadows, making it seem like Argo was the only one there. 'Got anything worthwhile for me?'

'Who do ya think I am?' Kirito couldn't see Argo's face, but he knew she was smirking. 'Nothing but the best for Kii-bou.'

'Sure, sure, Kirito replied as some players entered the town, completely oblivious to the beater hidden in the darkness. 'How much will it cost?'

'Hmm,' Argo brought her hand up to her chin. 'How bout some info about your build and a possible trade?'

Kirito looked at Argo shocked. 'You don't want Col?' Shaking his head, he smiled before the info broker could get any ideas. 'Actually, forget the Col.'

'Hah!' Argo snickered. 'I knew ya couldn't refuse this deal.' Looking around, the broker didn't see any nearby players, so she shuffled closer to Kirito. 'I assume ya have the same build in the beta, and have the Annealed Blade from floor one?'

'Looks like you already knew,' Kirito sighed, not surprised in the slightest. 'You certainly do live up to your nickname, _The Rat._ ' The teen stifled a yawn as another player entered the town. 'So, what about the trade?'

'A player who wants ta buy your blade approached me and asked me to get in touch with ya _._ The player is willing to trade 20,000 Col for your sword.' Argo sighed as she rubbed her neck. 'Whatcha have ta say?'

'No,' Kirito said instantly, crossing his arms. 'Tell them that I won't be selling my blade, no matter what. Now, keep up your end of the deal, Argo.'

Argo sighed. 'Yeah, of course. There's a quest I wanted ta tell ya about that I didn't tell anyone in the beta.'

'You kept this to yourself?' Kirito asked as he shuffled closer to the info broker, his shoulder grazing Argo's as the sun disappeared behind the mountains and the moon took its place.

'Aren't girls allowed ta keep secrets, Kii-bou?' Argo asked as she poked Kirito in the chest playfully. Knowing that the teen was blushing, she pulled back, laughing. 'Man, you're so easy to tease, Kii-bou!' Rubbing at her eyes, Argo stopped laughing before clearing her throat. 'Anyway, the Martial Arts Quest is located at the Southern-End of this floor in a cave that's located at the base of the tallest mountain on this floor. If ya walk inside, there should be a hut near an underground river that you have ta enter. Talk to the NPC and the quest will begin. I'm warning ya, though,' Argo said, waggling her finger at Kirito. 'The durability of the object ya have to break is so high it may as well be classed as an immortal object.'

'Thanks, Argo,' Kirito said, absorbing the information. 'I'll go check it out now.' Sighing, the teen moved forward and walked off towards the field, waving his goodbyes to the info broker before disappearing into shadows.

'You never change, do ya, Kii-bou?' Argo smiled to herself before sighing. Walking off, she headed towards the closest inn, intent on making more deals. As she passed players, Argo felt someone's eyes on her back. Sighing, the broker darted into a nearby alleyway and turned around, facing an onyx-haired girl. 'Sinonon?'

'Argo,' the beta tester approached The Rat. 'Do you have any info on Kirito's whereabouts?'

'Hmm?' Argo stepped forward with her fingers brushing her chin, leaning forward until her face was mere centimeters from Sinon's. 'Whatcha ya wanna know Kii-bou's location for?'

'It would be stupid for somebody, even a beta tester to play solo in this game,' Sinon replied, pushing Argo away with her right hand.

'Ahh, come on, Sinonon,' Argo said as she ducked under her arm and leapt onto Sinon's back. 'Are ya sure you don't have any feelings for Kii-Bou?'

'No, I don't!' Sinon exclaimed as she pushed Argo off her back, cheeks slightly red. 'Anyway, will you tell me or not?'

'I don't see why not.' Sighing, Argo motioned for Sinon to get closer. 'I'll tell ya, but don't say a word ta anybody.'

'Sure.'

 _1 Hour Later…_

'Thank god this coat has a hiding bonus,' Kirito muttered as he avoided another large mob of Windwasps, his back pressed against a rock. In the dead of the night, the teen managed to avoid unnecessary battles by hiding behind rocks or by dropping to the ground, his Coat of Midnight increasing his Hiding skill. Sighing with relief, Kirito walked forwards into the moonlight, heading towards the base of the largest mountain on Floor 2. After walking for a few minutes, the teen sighed with relief as he spotted a cave buried in the side of the mountain, a barely visible light source glowing deep within. 'That must be where the Martial Arts Quest takes place,' Kirito thought out aloud as he reached the entrance, peering inside the dark cave. Seeing nothing, the teen steps into the cave, his boots crunching loudly against the cold stones. Hearing running water, Kirito sighed with relief and continued walking deeper into the cave.

 _Splash_

'Huh,' Kirito muttered as he looked down, his boots partially covered in water. Looking around, the teen spotted a tiny waterfall falling into a small pool to his right, a tiny creek of water escaping the pool and trickling down the stones. Sighing, Kirito stepped out of the water and looked up. In front of him was a Dojo lit up by braziers filled with fire. The building was made of dark wood, a red sign hanging above the entrance to the dojo. As Kirito approached the building, he climbed some stairs onto a wooden veranda, two braziers lighting up as he passed them. 'What the hell is that?' Kirito stepped forward and leaned in, analyzing a small, smooth stone that sat on a small bench. Sighing, the teen moved away and entered the building.

'Welcome.' In front of Kirito stood a male NPC wearing a gi, a black belt holding it together. 'Have you come to receive training?' Kirito raised an eyebrow as a question mark rose above the man's head.

'Yes, sensei,' Kirito responded as he bowed, hands by his side.

'I see.' As Kirito straightened up, he heard a voice from behind him. 'Over here.'

'W-What?' Kirito gulped nervously as he turned around, the NPC standing beside the stone he looked at before. Sighing, the teen walked forwards and joined the man who was smiling. 'Sensei, what must I do?'

'Something very simple,' the master of the dojo said with a smile. 'I want you to split this rock in half.' Taking a deep breath than exhaling, the NPC closed his eyes and faced the rock. 'Hi-Yah!' Opening his eyes, the NPC brought his hand down in a chopping motion, hitting the rock directly with his bare hand.

 _Why is his hand at that angle?_ Kirito thought to himself as the rock was shattered into pieces, shards flying everywhere before disintegrating into particles.

'Did you see that, my pupil?' Kirito was snapped out of his thoughts as the master of the dojo drew on his face with a black brush.

'Y-Yes!' The man smiled before pulling the exact same rock out from behind his back.

'This is the rock I would like you to break,' the NPC said as he placed it on the bench, the shattered remains of the other rock disappearing into particles. 'Good luck.' Disappearing back into the dojo, Kirito was left speechless before sighing. Facing the rock, Kirito gulped nervously before sighing again.

'What did he do to my face?' The teen muttered as he opened his face. Pulling out the mirror from the first floor, a supposed _gift_ from Kayaba Akihiko, Kirito looked at himself in the mirror. Three, black whiskers were painted on each cheek. Raising his hand, he tried to rub it off to no effect. 'I wonder…' Sighing, Kirito pocketed the mirror before looking at the rock again. 'Alright, let's try this!' Taking a deep breath then exhaling, Kirito focused on the rock as he brought his hand up. 'Hi-yah!' Swinging downwards in a chopping motion, the teen's hand connected with the rock with a loud crack. 'Tsk!' Taking a step back, Kirito examined his now broken hand which flared up with pain every time he moved it. 'So, brute force won't work then?' Pulling a healing potion out, Kirito took a sip and felt his broken hand mend itself. 'I wonder how much durability this thing has,' he muttered to himself as he tapped on the rock. A menu opened, revealing its hit-points

 _ **1/1**_

'What?' Kirito exclaimed, surprised. 'If this thing only has one hitpoints, it must be pretty tough.'

 _The durability of the object ya have ta break is so high it may as well be classed as an immortal object is what Argo had said,_ Kirito thought to himself as he walked around the rock. _Unless…_

'You've got to be kidding me,' Kirito muttered to himself. 'Only by learning the Martial Arts Skill can you break this rock.' Sighing, Kirito focused and brought his hand up. Bringing it straight down onto the rock, Kirito grunted as a shock passed through his hands. 'I guess that won't work either. Maybe it's the way I have my hand before I hit the rock?' Kirito sighed.

 _Crack!_

Turning to his left so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, Kirito glared out at the direction to the exit. Seeing a green cursor, Kirito kept his chuckle to himself before turning back to the rock.

'That was close,' Sinon murmured in relief, Kirito not realizing she was there. Sighing, she walked out from behind the rock and approached Kirito who tried, and once again, failed to break the rock.

'So,' Kirito said out aloud as Sinon reached the bottom of the stairs. 'Argo sold me out, didn't she?' Sinon smiled but it quickly vanished as she reached the top of the stairs. 'Why are you here, Sinon?'

'Why do you think?' She replied, hand on her hips. 'It's dangerous for players to go solo, especially you after your little speech.'

Kirito sighed as he rubbed his hand. 'And for the first time that I thought you _actually_ cared for me, it was just you concerned about me not dying.' Facing Sinon, Kirito's sighed. 'So, why'd you follow me?'

'I just told yo- '

'Sinon,' Kirito interrupted the girl. 'Why are you really here?'

'I have no intention of telling you why,' Sinon replied as she looked away, crossing her arms as Kirito sighed again. 'But if you need to know, it's because I'm going to make you create a party with me.'

'Are you sure,' Kirito said, his voice streaked with concern. 'If you do that, you'll most likely be labeled as a beater like me.'

'You think I care?' Sinon dropped her arms to her side and walked towards Kirito, clearly angry. 'Those people should be grateful for having you! So _what_ if you're cheating in their eyes? This game is now life or death, so why are they complaining! They should be glad that they have you to help them out!' Huffing, Sinon finished her rant before taking a deep breath. 'Anyway, where can I start this quest?'

'Umm,' Kirito gulped nervously as Sinon glared at him. 'Just go into the dojo and talk to the NPC.' Without another word, Sinon walked into the dojo and Kirito sighed with relief. 'I swear her aura set her body on fire for a second,' Kirito muttered under his breath before facing the rock again.

'What was that for!' Kirito heard Sinon scream. Sighing, he turned around as the girl stormed out of the dojo, three, black whiskers on each cheek. 'Kirito!' The teen backed up nervously as Sinon raged towards him. 'Why didn't you tell me about the whiskers?'

'Well,' Kirito tried to look away from Sinon's face but failed. Sighing, he pointed towards the pool of water he saw earlier. 'You didn't give me enough time to say so. Anyway, go have a bath first, you reek.'

'Y-You…' Sinon shook with rage before stamping her foot down. 'Fine! I will then!' As she turned away, Kirito swore she was blushing as she stormed off towards the pool. Smiling, Kirito turned away, only to find the NPC Master beside him.

'She seems to be in a bad mood,' he said, smiling. 'Should I direct her to the hot spring?'

'You have a hot spring here?' Kirito shook his head before bowing to the NPC. 'Umm, anyway, yes please. If it helps her calm down, then please do so.'

The man didn't say anything. As Kirito straightened up, the NPC smiled. 'You care for that girl, don't you?'

'W-What?' Kirito was shocked. NPC's never had this much of a personality. It seemed as if he was almost a real person. 'Somewhat, I suppose,' he mumbled before looking at the NPC who simply smiled at him.

'I see.' Sighing, the NPC moved forwards and left Kirito behind. 'By the way, your hand positioning was fine at first, the angle was just wrong.' Without another word, the man disappeared, leaving Kirito behind, too shocked to say anything.

'This is so real, it's almost scary,' Kirito muttered to himself before facing the rock. 'So, my hand was just at the wrong angle?' Sighing, Kirito focused on the rock again and raised his hand. 'Hi-Yah!' Bringing it down in a chopping motion, Kirito remembered how the NPC had his hand at an unusual angle and adjusted his hand in the same way. A bright, yellow light began to shine from within Kirito's hand as he brought it down.

 _CRACK!_

'Wow,' Kirito mumbled, not believing his eyes. His right hand had spilt the rock directly in half without any pain on his end. 'So, that's the power of the Martial Arts Skill.'

'Well done, my pupil,' the master of the dojo said from behind Kirito as the teen turned around. 'It seems there is nothing else I need to teach you.'

'Really? I mean, thank you, Sensei,' Kirito bowed and the NPC laughed.

'Anyway, you can get rid of those whiskers now. Make sure to use that power for good.' With a good-natured laugh, he turned around and leaned against the railing as the _'Quest Complete!'_ Menu came up on Kirito's screen. 'So, what will you do now?' He asked the teen, surprising him again. 'If you really care for that girl, stay and help her out.'

Kirito looked at the NPC, amazed at how realistic it was before accepting his reward and closing the menu. 'I'll stay and keep her company, if that's alright.'

'Of course,' the man said, nodding his head at this. 'Take good care of her.' Getting up from the railing, the master walked back into the dojo and the lights inside turned off.

'Kirito.' The teen turned around and blushed furiously as he saw Sinon standing there, a towel wrapped around her body.

'W-Why don't you have any clothes on?' Kirito stuttered as he spun around, still blushing.

'Hmph! Pervert!' Sinon sighed as water dripped from her hair down her face. 'Anyway, I was wondering if you have any clothes that I could wear for the night.'

'You don't have any other clothes to wear?' Kirito shook his head in mock disappointment. 'I'm surprised, Sinon, that you're this under-prepared.'

'Shut up!' Sinon shouted, blushing as she slapped Kirito from behind, the blow sending the boy stumbling forwards. 'I'm only asking you because I don't have any clothes to wear apart from my combat gear, otherwise I wouldn't ask you!'

'Here,' Kirito said, tossing Sinon a large, blue shirt alongside his Coat of Midnight. 'Wear this for now.' Ignoring the girl's astonished look, the boy walked past her towards the pool. 'I'm having a bath, so get changed while I'm not there.' Without waiting for her response, Kirito sighed as he reached the pool. Looking around, he saw a small archway in the wall and walked through, making his way towards the hot spring. 'I may as well relax for now,' Kirito sighed to himself as he pulled his shirt off. 'Tonight is going to be a very long night.'

 **Alright, this chapter is now complete! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if there's any mistakes in spelling or grammar, make sure to tell me. Also, the next couple of chapters are already planned out and they might take me a while to write.**

 **Make sure to follow/favorite the story and me if you haven't already!**

 **-Striderm8**

 **P:S – Check out** _ **Don't Fear the Dark**_ **by TheSilentSwordsman if you haven't already.**


	6. Martial Arts

**A Different World**

 **So, if this chapter seems a bit off, sorry about that. I've lost all previous story ideas cause I'm an idiot. Anyway, enjoy.**

 **Also, I've decided to stop being such an idiot when writing. I used to ask people about my writing style and say that I would change it to suit their wants, but no more! If you enjoy my writing style, then good for you! If you don't, well, good for you! Enjoy the damn chapter!**

* * *

The moonlight shone brilliantly over Floor 2, illuminating the Savanna that was teeming with mobs. Windwasps lazily glided around above the beasts that snorted in the night, ignoring the frustrated yells coming from a cave hidden from sight.

'Damn,' Sinon muttered angrily as she rubbed her hand, the bottom of it slowly turning red. As she walked around on the wooden veranda bare-foot, a cool breeze came into the cave, slightly lifting Kirito's Coat of Midnight which allowed a small portion of the breeze to come up through the large, blue shirt she wore that hit her underwear. 'Eek!' Jumping, Sinon blushed furiously as she grabbed the shirt and pulled it down past her knees, trying to stop anymore wind to get past. 'Stupid coat,' she muttered as she buttoned it up, hiding her form from sight. Walking back to the rock, Sinon raised her hand to her chin as she analyzed it, trying to pinpoint a weak spot. Raising her hand, she brought it down in a chopping motion, aiming at the top of the small, round stone.

 _*CRACK*_

'Well,' Sinon winced as she raised her now broken wrist which flared with pain, a bruise beginning to rise. 'That hurts like a bitch.' Looking down at the rock, she noticed that a tiny crack had appeared from where she had hit it. 'Well, it's progress.'

 _5 minutes later…_

Kirito sighed as he felt all the tension in his body disappear, the water relaxing his muscles. His jet-black hair was all spiked up from when he decided to do a lap in the hot spring as the water seemed to give him energy.

'I should get out now,' Kirito muttered as he pulled himself out, the towel around his waist clinging to his legs. Pulling it away, Kirito opened his menu and pulled out another towel which materialized into his hand. Raising it, he dried his black hair before drying the rest of his body. Opening the menu, he equipped his black pants, a matching shirt and boots before closing the menu. Walking through the steam rising from the bare, rocky room, Kirito exited through the archway in the wall and headed back towards the dojo to where he could hear a girl talking aloud angrily.

'Stupid rock!' He heard Sinon yell, the teen girl clearly frustrated. Sighing, Kirito walked up the stairs and reached the top. Leaning against the railing, he watched Sinon bring her hand down repeatedly in the same chopping motion at the rock, and each time she did, the underside of her hand became redder.

'Sinon,' the girl looked up at Kirito, a fire burning in her eyes. 'Do you want some help?'

'I'll do this myself,' Sinon replied as Kirito sighed. Focusing on the rock again, she yelled before attempting another karate-chop, only to fail. 'Damnit,' Sinon growled in frustration as she brought out another health potion to fix her broken hand. Kirito smiled at her failed attempts before opening his menu. Scrolling through his items, he found the item he was looking for.

'There we go!' Kirito said aloud as a sleeping bag materialized in front of him on the ground, fur covering the insides.

'When'd you get that?' Sinon asked as Kirito kneeled to get into it.

'I've been on this floor longer than everybody else, Sinon,' Kirito replied as he laid down, the fur warming his body as he turned his back to the girl. 'I've been busy.'

'Hmph.' Facing the rock again, Sinon tried again to split the annoying object in half and ended up with the same result. Ignoring Kirito's presence, she shouted in frustration before walking away from the rock. 'Stupid piece of shit,' Sinon murmured before the cool breeze came back in, making her shiver. Looking over at Kirito sleeping peacefully, the girl wondered what his level was as she looked at her own.

 _Sinon_

 _Lvl 15_

'It can't be much higher than mine,' Sinon muttered to herself before a yawn threatened to escape her mouth. Looking over at the sleeping bag, she realized how tempting it was to just crawl in and sleep. The only problem being…

'Tsk, Kirito,' Sinon said before walking towards him. Crouching down, the girl slid her smooth legs into the bag before turning her back to face Kirito's. As their bodies touched, Sinon blushed furiously before calming herself down. 'It's only for the night,' she murmured. 'Besides, it's cold and this is the best choice of action to keep our bodies warm.' Closing her eyes, she shuffled slightly before letting sleep take her away.

 _8:45_

Kirito slowly opened his eyes and yawned, the morning rays of sunlight penetrating the dark shroud covering the cave. Sitting up in his sleeping bag, he felt something warm press up against his side. Looking over to his left, Kirito watched as a sleeping Sinon snuggled up closer to him, her mouth opening slightly as she muttered something incoherent.

'W-W-What?' Kirito stuttered, feeling his face burning. 'Why are you in my sleeping bag?'

'Keep it down, would ya?' Sinon mumbled as she opened one eye sleepily, glancing at a blushing Kirito. 'I'm trying to sleep here.'

'Y-Yeah, sorry.' Sighing, Kirito crawled out of the bag, leaving Sinon groaning as her source of warmth disappeared, her complaints half-finished sentences. Stretching his arms above his head, Kirito felt a satisfying crack in his shoulders as he yawned. 'May as well warm up,' Kirito muttered to himself as he opened his menu. Equipping his starting blade, Kirito put his hand on the railing and vaulted over. Landing on the rocks with his knees bending slightly, the teen smiled as he reached over his shoulders and pulled out the sword. 'Alright, let's do this!'

Sinon woke to the shouts of a teenager nearby and she grumbled. Crawling out of the sleeping bag, the girl stretched, a small moan escaping her lips as she felt her joints crack. Walking towards the railing, Sinon leaned against it, using her arm to support her head as she watched Kirito practice.

'Let's try this!' Kirito pulled out his sword darted towards a large rock, and just before he made contact, he came to a sudden stop in front of it as he tossed his sword up into the air. Sinon watched, confused at what was going on, until she noticed Kirito's right-hand light up with a glowing, yellow energy. 'Hi-Yah!' He shouted, swinging his fist straight into the rock. Sinon's eyes widened as she watched the rock, roughly her size, have a multitude of cracks spread instantaneously from the center to the outside edges. However, Kirito wasn't done. As soon as he had punched the rock, the teen had jumped onto the rock and backflipped off it, grabbing his sword from mid-air as he did. The moment Kirito's feet touched the ground, the teen vanished and reappeared on the other side of the shattered rock, a large slash hitting it directly in the center sending shards of earth everywhere as a gust of wind came through behind Kirito violently, the after-effects of the teen moving so quickly.

'Wow,' Sinon muttered to herself as the teen smiled to himself, sliding his sword into its sheathe on his back.

 _*Ding*_

'Hmm?' A menu popped up in front of Kirito and he frowned.

 _Strength increased by 1 point_

'So, you can increase your skills by doing tasks related to it? Interesting…' Kirito scratched his chin as he lost himself in his thoughts, thinking about the possibilities with skills.

'Kirito.' Shaken out of his trance, the teen looked up at the railing where Sinon stood, waving at him. 'Good morning.'

'You saw everything, didn't you?' Kirito replied as Sinon smiled down at him.

'Of course I did.'

Kirito sighed. 'I'm going to go clean up. Be back soon.' Sinon watched the teen walk towards the hot springs and sighed.

'I may as well get ready.' Pulling off Kirito's coat and shirt, the girl was left standing there in just her underwear. Swiping open her menu, Sinon equipped her combat gear: the beginner's chest-plate armor with a simple green shirt underneath, the leaf-green jacket with speckles of dark green from the boss fight, a green miniskirt with black leggings and black boots.

'That feels much better.' Sighing, the girl grabbed the coat and shirt off the ground and placed it on the railing before turning around. Looking right at the rock she attempted to break the night before, Sinon frowned as she walked towards it. 'Maybe I have to hit it like this?' Raising her arm, Sinon brought her hand down in a chopping motion, but altered the angle she had it at. A burst of yellow light erupted from her hand as she struck the rock, splitting it in half.

'Well done.' Turning around, the martial arts instructor stood behind the girl, giving her a smile. 'You have accomplished the task I gave you.'

'Thank you, sensei,' Sinon bowed politely. 'What is my next lesson?'

The master of the dojo smiled again before turning around and walking back into the dojo. 'I have taught you all there is to know, my pupil. The rest is up to you.' As the man disappeared into the dojo, Sinon stood there, surprised at the lack of the quest. Dismissing the rewards menu, she sighed just as Kirito came back.

'You finished the quest?' Kirito asked as he walked towards the railing and collected his coat and shirt.

'Yeah,' Sinon replied as Kirito pulled the coat on and put the shirt in his inventory. 'Quite anticlimactic, if I'm being honest with myself.' Sighing, the girl turned and walked towards the stairs. 'Come on, let's go. I received a message from Julian last night when you were having a bath. He wants us to all meet up at Urbus.'

'You might want to get rid of your whiskers first,' Kirito said as he pointed at his face, the black lines long gone.

'I-I was going to do that before we left!' Sinon exclaimed, the girl's face burning up as she rubbed at her face with her sleeve. 'Come on! Let's get going!' Walking off towards the light, Kirito smiled to himself before sighing and following her.

'Yeah, yeah, I'm coming.'

* * *

 _5 minutes later…_

'Not again!' Pushing his muscles to their absolute limit, Kirito sprinted towards the town of Urbus once again, but this time a screeching girl accompanied him. Taking a glance over his shoulder, the teen counted eleven Windwasps giving chase, the horde agitated.

'KIRITO! YOU GOD DAMN IDIOT!' Sinon shrieked as she darted forwards, narrowly avoiding a stinger which embedded itself in the ground creating an explosion of dust and rocks combined that flew in every direction. 'HOW THE HELL DID YOU ATTRACT SO MANY WASPS?!'

'I DON'T KNOW HOW!' Kirito screeched back as he rolled to the side, kicking up dust in a wasp's face before he reached over his shoulder and pulled out a shining blade. Swinging his arm as fast as it could go, the teen slashed horizontally, spinning around as he did, the black leather coat he wore becoming a black blur. Finishing the 360° turn, Kirito faced the mob and shouted before delivering a fatal blow which resulted in another red gash across its waist.

'Watch out!' Looking up, Kirito's eyes widened, but in a fraction of a second, they narrowed as the boy entered what others would call his battle mode. The teen's onyx eyes lost their energetic look and was replaced with a black, burning fire as the look of surprise melted into a face which could kill, a terrible sight to behold. Time began to slow down for Kirito as his brain's processing power increased exponentially, his movements becoming a blur to outsiders. In a fraction of a second, the teen fell to one knee whilst pumping his right arm towards the sky, his sword held in a reverse grip.

 _CRACK!_

Without looking up, Kirito felt the whiplash of wind from the incredible speed he displayed, dust flying around his body in a mini-tornado as the Wasp that was mere centimeters away from stabbing his body with its stinger exploded into thousands of particles. Without wasting anymore time, the black-clad teen swung his right arm wide, bringing the sword in his hand in a devastating arc as he activated _Horizontal_. Slicing apart two more wasps with one blow, Kirito raised his head and opened his eyes.

'Show off!' Sinon sprinted towards Kirito and hopped up onto his shoulders without slowing down. Crouching slightly, the girl nimbly leaped off the boy's shoulder as graceful as a cat. Reaching behind her waist, Sinon brought the dagger she despised so much from its sheathe with the flick of her wrist. Reaching the peak of her jump, the girl flipped in the air, her back creating a perfect semi-circle around the glaring sun.

'Three underneath you, Sinon!' Kirito shouted out as he suddenly appeared beside Sinon, slashing ruthlessly at a sneaky Windwasp, killing it instantly with a luck critical hit.

'I don't need you to stay the obvious idiot!' Gritting her teeth, Sinon descended back to the earth face-first, her dagger by her side. The three beasts watched her and charged, strange buzzing sounds resonating from within their bodies. Smiling, the girl leaned backwards before thrust forwards with her right hand.

 _CRACK!_

Pulling out the dagger with ease, Sinon spun in the air and lashed out with her glowing boot.

 _SNAP! CRACK!_

Sinon smiled as she felt a satisfying crack, telling her everything she needed to know. As the wasp fell through the sky, it's neck at an unusual angle, the girl quickly reached behind her waist again and brought out one of her fragile throwing picks. Tossing it with her left hand with pin-point accuracy, the wasp let out a feeble cry before disappearing into the same particles its comrades did.

'Now it's your turn you piece of shit.' The Windwasp turned around to flee, terror visible as it shook uncontrollably. As Sinon quickly approached her target, the girl spun around, using her nimbleness to her advantage. Coming out of the spin, the beta tester hurled her dagger at the fleeing enemy. Watching the knife sink into the target's soft back, Sinon couldn't help but smile.

'SINON!' Whipping around, the girl watched helplessly as an aggravated Windwasp buzzed towards her. With a full-speed headbutt, Sinon cried out in pain as the insect smashed into her side, sending her throttling towards the earth.

 _BOOM!_

'God damn insects,' Sinon muttered as she raised her hand and felt the side of her head. Wincing in pain, the girl noticed that her health was barely in the green, but the pain roaring from her ribs said otherwise.

'GrrAAGH!' Looking up from the mini-crater her body had formed from the impact, Sinon caught a glimpse of Kirito hurling himself at the remaining enemies, his health barely lowered. However, something seemed… off. Kirito's right arm trailed uselessly behind him, the arm itself at a peculiar angle. Sinon's eyes widened as she realized that his arm was broken, and that the shout she had heard earlier was most likely him. Watching the teen practically fly towards the wasps, she also realized that he held his sword in his left hand, the blade shinning a dull light.

'Kirito?' Noticing Sinon's state, Kirito growled internally as he gritted his teeth. Approaching the remaining three beasts in front of him, the teen thrusted forwards with his left hand, the starting sword in his hand receiving its orders. Stabbing through the first wasp's chest, Kirito managed to pierce the wasp behind it in the abdomen. As the first mob exploded, the teen darted forwards, thrusting the sword deeper into the beast's abdomen before it pierced the other side. With a shout of determination, Kirito spun around, facing his back to his adversary and reversed his grip on the sword before jumping towards the sky. Running the blade through the wasp, it died with an angry buzzing sound as the blade sliced straight through its body.

'I know you're there!' Bringing the blade overhead in a crescent arc, Kirito activated _Vertical_ as he slashed down viciously with inhuman speed at the approaching wasp. Stinger met metal and the horrible sound of a sword being broken rang aloud in the plains. The teen's eyes narrowed as his blade snapped, leaving behind a jagged blade that was around the same size as a knife. However, whilst the sword broke, it still served its purpose.

 _CRACK!_

As the beginner's sword dispersed into particles alongside the wasp's body, Kirito landed gracefully on the ground, kicking very little dirt up before he looked up.

'KIRITO!' The boy's eyes widened as he watched Sinon slowly walk towards him, unaware of the stinger flying towards her with a 100% chance of being a fatal blow.

'Sinon, duck!' With a grunt of pain and determination, Kirito brought his left arm back before bringing it forwards with an incredible amount of force, dislocating his shoulder in the process. As the teen grimaced in pain, he watched the sword hurtle towards Sinon, her eyes wide in surprise.

 _Thud_

 _…_

 _CRACK!_

Sinon trembled as she watched the hilt of a sword explode into thousands of blue and green polygons beside her head alongside the last Windwasp. Falling to her knees, the girl held herself up from hitting the ground by supporting herself with her hands out front, a cold sweat running down her body as she gasped for air.

 _I was so close to dying,_ Sinon thought to herself, her mind in shambles as Kirito made his way to her as fast as he could, wincing in pain as he opened his menu with his broken arm.

'Sinon, here, drink this.' The girl looked up as Kirito held out a health potion for her to drink, his health bar slowly decreasing as it reached the yellow.

'Thanks,' Sinon murmured as she placed her thumb on the edge of the lid. Popping the lid off with some difficulty because of her cracked ribs, the girl eventually managed to raise the vial to her lips. Feeling the thick liquid in her mouth, Sinon tried not to gag as she swallowed the foul-smelling liquid, the medicine tasting potion slowly being drained. Feeling her ribs slowly mend themselves inside her body, the girl sighed with relief before tossing the empty vial to the side, the glass shattering into pieces before disappearing into thin air. Staring up at the blue sky, Sinon realized once again how close she was to death. Hell, the grim reaper himself was practically right behind her, his scythe ready to deliver the decisive blow.

'Tsk!' Sinon lowered her head and watched Kirito wince as he drained the potion. As he drank the liquid, his broken arm violently jerked back into its original position, a loud _crack_ resonating from within his arm as the teen groaned. Tossing aside the vial, Kirito looked over at Sinon and sighed as his dislocated arm set itself back into place.

'Are you alright, Sinon?' The boy asked as he turned and crouched, hand out to help her stand.

'Y-Yeah.'

Taking Kirito's hand, Sinon rose to her feet before patting herself free of dirt and dust. Shaking her head, the girl walked towards the boy as he turned around. As they resumed their trip to Urbus, the two teens walked beside each other in an awkward silence. The wind picked up on this and decided to bless them. As a small, cool breeze came through the plains, Kirito sighed as it ran its hands through his hair, ruffling it gently.

'Kirito.'

Turning his head around, the beater looked at the girl walking beside him, her head cast downwards, hiding her face in shadows. Kirito swore he saw a tear in the corner of her eye, but when Sinon raised her head, that tear was gone.

'Let's go.'

As Sinon began to walk faster, Kirito withheld a sigh before matching her pace. However, something was troubling the boy.

 _'_ _Diabel,'_ he thought to himself. _'I still can't believe that you… You…'_ Kirito let out a sigh, gaining a curious look from the girl beside him.

'Something wrong, Kirito?' Sinon asked him. The girl's voice was filled with concern.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'Hmm… If you say so.'

With Urbus slowly becoming bigger and bigger, Kirito took one discreet step closer to Sinon. Whether the girl noticed or not, she didn't move away, and the two continued on their way towards the town that rest ahead of them.

* * *

 **So, this chapter is about around 3,500 or 3,600 words total for the story part, ignoring author's notes. Anyway, I've been re-writing my plan up for A Game of Life and Death, which should be out shortly. Thanks to me reading an SAO zombie fic, I've been inspired to write one as well. Also, I'm looking out for beta readers to help me out with this as well. If you'd like to volunteer, well, P.M me, but make sure you have a beta profile up already. This also doesn't apply for this story either. If you want to become a beta reader for my other story, The Swordsman and The Sniper – The Ribbon of Fate, or my upcoming story, A Game of Life and Death, you can P.M me about that as well. Warning - I'll only accept people who are up to my writing standards as beta readers, meaning that I want to be able to read a story that you've written to also understand your writing style.**

 **Anyway, enough of my pointless rambling, don't forget to follow/favorite the story so you're always updated on new chapters, and follow/favorite me as well to be updated on new stories.**

 **-Striderm8**

* * *

'The deed is done.' Resting on a tree branch near the entrance of the 1st dungeon on Floor One, a man with a cloak bit into a red apple as he grinned. The sunlight lit the path underneath him, the tree providing free shade for adventurers who passed by. Feeling a cool breeze pass by, the man took another bite out of the apple, a loud crunch heard to any players nearby. 'Now, I wonder who will be my next victim?' Watching two male adventurers walk by underneath him, a large, cruel smile spread to the man's face like wildfire. Carefully, he dropped from the branch and landed silently, knees bending slightly from the fall. Quickly creeping towards his victims, the man slowly pulled out his dagger before lunging forwards. Today was just another day like usual.

'It's showtime.'


	7. Floor 7 - Floria

**A Different World**

 **Sorry for the lack of chapters here. Here's your update!**

* * *

Floor 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 went by easily as the Clearers gained in momentum. Kirito, Julian, Asuna and Sinon were part of this group and were easily some of the strongest among them. However, the further they got in clearing the floors, more standards needed to be met to keep fighting. While Sinon and Asuna were exhausted farming mobs after two to three hours, Kirito and Julian easily went on for four to six. Their blades were like a part of their body, effortlessly cleaving through enemies and quests alike. It was like a competition for the two; they would constantly fight to get the upper edge on each other, only to have one or two level difference, even though their skill with the blade was unmatched. And now, they were competing against each other on Floor 7.

'Concentrate Kazuto,' Kirito muttered to himself as he leaped backwards against his adversary, scattering petals everywhere in the process. Floor 7 was known as Floria, a flowery field surrounded by green, rolling hills, unusually large flowers and a couple of floating islands with what looked like exotic plant life growing on its underside. However, even though the scenery was peaceful and serene, the enemy mobs that spawned were not. Kirito raised in blade in front of him in a reverse grip, angling the blade slightly down as he faced off against a Danger Lion. As the teen looked at its piercing red eyes, he noted its incredibly tough, orange mane, and its strong, pale-brown body. Darting forwards, Kirito leaned forward as far as he could without falling over and activated Horizontal. Slicing his Annealed Blade from right to left, he easily decapitated the stunned lion with a single strike. As his foe let out a feeble cry before exploding into particles, the teen accepted the col and EXP before sheathing his sword. However, another menu popped up with his reward. Kirito frowned as he accepted it.

 _Reward_

 _Diamond Tip_

'I wonder what it is,' he murmured to himself as he opened his menu. As the item shimmered to life in his hand, a small, cold diamond rolled out onto his palm. The teen recognized the item as the shard on the end of the Danger Lion's tail. Closing his hand on the item, he pocketed it, sending it to his inventory as he did. Sighing, Kirito walked forwards through the field of flowers, a cool breeze cooling down his body.

 _'Help!'_

Whipping his head towards the source of noise, the teen instantly set off at a sprint, his legs pumping hard as he raced up the hill. Seeing a player on the ground weaponless, his eyes locked onto his enemy.

 _Another Danger Lion._

Gritting his teeth, Kirito pushed himself even harder, using his muscles to their utmost capacity. As he came within throwing range of the lion, he jumped and pulled out his Annealed Blade. Spinning once, the teen hurled his sword at the Danger Lion and watched it pierce its head. Without wasting anytime, Kirito landed violently and rolled once before managing to turn it into a slide. Spitting out a flower petal that got into his mouth, the teen reached the player and pulled the sword out of the lion's body before it exploded into thousands of particles.

'W-Who are you?' The player asked nervously, slowly backing up from Kirito.

'That doesn't matter right now,' the teen responded as he looked around. 'Get out of here before anymore show up.'

'R-Right.' Hearing the male stand up, Kirito relaxed a bit before tensing up again as multiple Danger Lions approached him. Once he was sure the player had left, a smile spilled out onto his face as he eyed his adversaries

'Come on kitties, let's play.' As Kirito entered his battle-mode, the world around him started to slow down as his mental gears kicked up a notch and hummed in unison, a jolt of adrenaline energizing his body. As five lions slowly approached the teen, he took note of the distance between each lion. Smiling, he took the battle to them.

Holding his sword by his side, Kirito walked, jogged, then slowly began running towards one of the Danger Lions. Grinning, he stepped to the side, completely avoiding the first beast's pounce before performing a 180°. As he built up momentum in his blade, he activated Horizontal and slashed straight through the first lion, killing it instantly as a red gash spilt its body in two. As two lions raced towards him from both sides, Kirito tossed his sword up in the sky before facing the lion on the left. Taking a step back, he straightened the fingers of his right hand as he bended his elbow whilst bringing his arm back. When the lion was in range, Kirito activated Embracer, a single thrust attack using the martial arts skill. As his hand coated in a bright yellow approached the lion, the teen let out a yell and he stepped forward and pierced the beasts head with one blow. While the lion dangled from his outstretched hand, its health rapidly draining, the other lion leaped at Kirito with a snarl that sent saliva flying everywhere, only to be stabbed in the neck by a falling blade. Grabbing the Annealed Blade with his left hand, Kirito twisted it in the mob's neck before forcing it through its skull, killing and exploding the immobile beast instantly. With no hesitation, he stabbed the helpless lion before turning and facing the other two.

'Is that all you got?' Smiling, all Kirito got in return were angry snarls and a disgusting smell of one of the lions possibly shitting themselves. Sprinting towards the remaining two, the teen hurled his blade into one of the beasts, embedding his Annealed Blade in its torso. The other beast sensed an opening and charged, spittle flying everywhere from its opened mouth. However, its efforts were in vein. Kirito raced towards the beast, and just as it pounced, the teen did a backflip and smashed his foot into its jaw, sending it flying into the sky. Crouching down for a second, he felt his muscles tense up before he leaped into the sky. Bringing his hand into a fist, Kirito spun around once before activating another martial arts skill. Bringing his glowing red fist down, he smashed it into the lion's head and fractured its skull before it created a mini crater in the flower fields. Falling down, the teen landed and fell to one knee before grabbing the hilt that rested in front of him. Holding his sword in reverse grip again, he shot forward and dragged the sword through the last lion's body. Hearing the familiar exploding sound, he sheathed his sword before letting out a sigh as his body left its battle mode. As his rewards menu popped up, he accepted the items without bothering to check what he got before brushing off all the grass and petals on his jacket and hair. Just another day of farming.

* * *

Julian sighed he stabbed downwards at a Danger Lion, impaling its head with his unique blade. The blonde had donned his usual flashy armor, the only difference being the strange sword he held in his hands. The sword had a simple hilt, but the blade itself was spilt down the middle with a one-two centimeter gap, essentially creating a one-handed sword with two blades. However, the blades sharp edge ran straight before curving outwards at the end, essentially creating a cleaver. Holding the Boss Raid drop, Julian's unique weapon, _'Bloodsurge,'_ was a difficult weapon to wield, but devastating when used efficiently.

'I wonder how the others are going,' Juliant thought aloud as he accepted his reward. Pulling the weapon out before the lion exploded, the blonde sheathed it before trudging up a hill. Reaching the oak tree that rested at the top, the teen admired the serene scenery as a cool breeze ruffled his hair playfully.

* * *

Sinon growled at her luck as she stormed into Urbus, kicking up a dust trail behind her as players made a wide berth around her. The girl had gone out to find Asuna, only to be surrounded by a group of male players. They had tried to, _convince,_ the teen to play around with them. Once the first creep touched her wrist, Sinon lost it and smashed her fist into his nose. As the first goon fell onto his ass and backed up, face clutching at his broken nose, the rest of the group moved in. After the girl felt someone touched her, she either smashed her fist into their face, elbowed them in the gut or sent them flying with a kick to their ribs. Reaching the center of the town, Sinon dispersed the earlier events from her mind as she stepped into the teleporter and muttered, 'Floria,' before disappearing.

* * *

Asuna wandered around Floria with her rapier out. The girl was, more or less, enjoying the scenery more than trying to farm. Crouching down at a group of flowers, she closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of the countless flowers before sighing with happiness. Standing up, the teen walked off towards the teleporter nearby, ready to go find Sinon. As she made her way up the hill, Asuna came face to face with a pissed off Sinon and recoiled instantly at her dangerous aura.

'Asuna,' Sinon said sweetly with a smile, even though her frustration was evident. 'Would you mind coming here for a moment?'

'I think I'll pass,' the chestnut-hair girl replied before she whipped around and sprinted away, kicking up petals in her wake.

 _'Get back here right now!'_ Sinon chased her friend over the hill towards another field of flowers just as Kirito and Julian reached the same field.

'Oh, what a coincidence,' the two boys said in unison as Asuna came to a stop between them, Sinon not too far behind. As the girls glared at them, the two teenage boys made eye contact and tried to stifle their laughs as they made a silent joke with each other.

'Oh, Kirito,' Sinon walked towards the jet-black haired teen and stopped in front of him. 'Is that flower for me?'

'Flower?' Looking down at his chest, Kirito saw a sunflower wedged between his chest plate and shirt and smirked. Pulling it out with extravagance, he flourished the flower before handing it to Sinon. 'Here. Take it.'

'Why, thank you Kirito,' Sinon replied as she took the flower carefully before tucking it behind her ear.

'Alright,' Julian clapped his hands together. 'Enough with the charade, Asuna here is going to have a heart attack.' Looking over at said girl, Kirito could see a large blush on her face, most likely from the exchanges between him and Sinon.

'It's alright, Asuna,' Kirito said with a smile. 'I was just joking around with Sinon.'

'Were you really though?' Sinon replied with a playful smile, all her anger for before completely gone.

'Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't, my lady,' Kirito said in a manly voice while bowing.

 _Crack!_

Turning around, the four teenagers watched a large crack in the grass spread rapidly before a massive hole was visible. As a shadow covered the area and quickly became bigger and bigger, Julian and Kirito smiled as a field boss came crashing down into the earth, leaving a crater in its wake.

'Let's do this!'

* * *

 **Apologies for the short chapter and lack of desciption. Very tired me is typing this up as I speak in the about one hour. Also, with the sudden floor jump. Yes, I know it's annoying, but I didn't really need to explain the field boss on floor 2 as I can just use it as a flashback later on in the story. Also, regarding events happening in the manga, the dark-elf quest with Kizmel did happen. However, I don't know what floor it occurred so I won't be able to go into detail for now. Anyway, if there's any character personality changes above that are massive or very noticeable, P.M me or leave a review. I'll fix it up when I get the time to.**

 **Anyway, I'm tired and you're getting spoilt. A chapter for The Swordsman and The Sniper – The Ribbons of Fate** _ **and**_ **A Different World.**

 **Seeya**

 **-Striderm8**


	8. Moonlit Black Cats

**A Different World**

 **For the guest reviewer, the reason this story is progressing slowly is because I'm deciding to take my time. While it is infuriating for the readers (Sorry) to put up with a slow pace, I'd rather get everything set up properly instead of rushing this fic, and the same goes for my other one. However, for you, there is some good news. I'm ramping the speed up story-wise, so there won't be stuck on a single floor for 5 chapters.**

 _ **Warning: For those who haven't watched Ordinal Scale, some characters from the movie shall be present…**_ _**later on in the story.**_

 **I rest my case. Enjoy your chapter.**

* * *

Kirito looked down at the huffing guild sprawled on the grass in front of him, Sinon standing beside him. Barely puffed himself, the teen sighed as a light breeze passed by, enjoying the moment of peace despite the groans coming from the exhausted players.

'You said you were the Moonlit Black Cats, right?' Sinon asked as she crouched down, looking at their injured bodies. Mutilated scars of red pixels covered their torsos and wrapped around their legs, bare slivers of HP left in their bars.

'Y-Yeah,' one of them muttered weakly, hands trembling violently.

'What the hell were you thinking?' The guild shuddered at one of their savior's voice full of frustration. 'You aren't even a decent level to attempt this dungeon, and your gear is far too weak! Honestly, were you trying to get yourselves killed?'

'Sinon,' Kirito walked forwards and rested a hand on her shoulder, only for the girl to shrug it off.

'Kirito, I'm heading back to the inn.' Opening her menu, he watched a teleport crystal materialize in Sinon's hand.

'Floor 22.'

'Well, there goes my day.' Sighing, Kirito looked back at the guild. 'Sorry about Sinon, she gets frustrated easily at people's stupidity.'

'It's fine,' what Kirito assumed was their leader spoke. 'We went in there to finish off a quest, but ended up in some deep trouble.'

'Yeah man!' Another one piped up. 'You really saved our bacon!'

'Save it for another time,' Kirito sighed as he walked away. 'If you need me, just contact the name Kirito and I'll see what I can do.' Waving goodbye as he walked off, the teen let out another sigh as he pulled a teleport crystal from within his pocket. 'Teleport, Floor 22.'

* * *

Kirito easily dodged the spearhead that was thrusted in his general direction. It was almost as if Sachi was trying to nibble on his coat with the weapon. Cracking a smile, the teen knocked the staff aside with the flat of his blade and swiped horizontally, creating a laceration on her breastplate which shortly shattered afterwards. As the girl let out a small gasp, mainly from how easily Kirito finessed her, the teenager sighed.

'Five and counting,' the black-haired boy said as he helped her up.

'I'm terrible,' Sachi muttered. 'I can't even land a hit on you!' Kirito remained silent at the girl's words. He was one of the higher leveled players and an elite at that, so the fact that Sachi couldn't hit him was a given, but he knew she wasn't terrible. The girl had improved so much over the past week that she was easily better than common players if she put her heart into it.

'Come on,' Kirito replied. 'Let's take a break. I'm sure the others are waiting.' Walking with Sachi, the teen felt a pang of guilt as he glanced at the level he lied about to the others.

 _Kirito – Lvl 47_

* * *

Months had passed by quickly and Kirito smiled as he watched the Moonlit Black Cats come to a decision. Watching Keita disappear into crystals, the teen watched on as Ducker, Tetsuo, Sachi and Sasamaru walked towards the teleport gate.

'Enjoying yourself?' Glancing behind, Kirito walked towards the teleport gate as Sinon fell into step beside him.

'You know,' he replied, stopping beside Sachi as they all teleported to a new floor. 'If you were around more, we could've made them ready for the front lines already.'

'Who was the one who went and grinded mobs to get their equipment?' The corners of Sinon's lips curled upwards as Kirito froze before sighing in defeat.

'Hey! We're here!' Darting forwards, Ducker began to laugh as he bounced around, filled with energy. 'I can't wait to see what we rake in!' As the rest of the guild just sighed, Sinon gave them a faint smile as Kirito opened his menu.

'Wait, why are we on the 27th floor?'

'We're gonna get some loot to celebrate buying our new house,' Tetsuo explained as he walked up front, calmly watching an energetic Ducker.

'Still though,' Kirito hesitated as he slowed down, looking around at the dungeon. 'This is a floor higher that what you guys usually grind.'

'We'll be fine,' Sasamaru said, fidgeting with his straps for his armor. 'We have both of you here in case something goes wrong.'

'I don't know…'

'We'll be fine,' Sinon smirked as she nudged Kirito in the ribs. 'Or are you underestimating your own abilities.'

'Pff! You wish, Sinon,' the boy exclaimed. Oh, the arrogance of power, Kirito would later think of as he recalled the events of that day.

* * *

'Damnit!' Sprinting forwards, Kirito slid underneath the trap door before it closed, making it by the skin of his teeth. Immediately, the boy unsheathed his sword and activated a sword skill, his blade glowing a faint blue before he went hurtling forwards. Easily killing a Dark Dwarf Miner, the teen whipped around as he hurled a throwing pick to distract a Mineral Elemental from Ducker who was panicking as his teleport crystal failed.

'Kirito!' Slicing a Dwarf in half, Kirito leaped backwards as he reversed his hold on his sword, stabbing an Elemental in the head.

'Everybody!' The teen roared. 'Get in a corner!' Hearing the panicked scrambling, Kirito grunted as a blow from a Dwarf glanced off his shoulder, making him stumble. Growling, the teen kicked the mob back, its weapon flying into the air. Grabbing the dagger, Kirito flipped it into a reverse-grip before darting forwards, making quick work of his opponents. Lunging forwards, he blocked an axe with the hilt of the dagger before savagely lashing out, eviscerating the Dwarf's throat before ducking underneath a mace. Slashing wildly, the teen heard the shattering of glass before quickly moving forwards, hacking and smashing anything in his way. Soon, Kirito saw the mobs beginning to thin out, only for a cry of distress to break his battle-born attention. Turning around so fast he gave himself whiplash, he watched on as Ducker remain crouched in the corner, his hands placed on his head as his eyes went wide, guilt taking over. Tetsuo was on the ground alongside Sasamaru who was on his back, locked in a life-and-death battle. Kirito felt something click in his head before he let out a massive growl, darting forwards. However, he was too late.

'Ki-ir-to…' The teen looked at Sachi, helpless as she fell towards the ground sideways, a tear rolling down her face as her mouth moved silently.

Glass shattered, and the Moonlit Black Cats were gone. Shock and fear washed over Kirito as his world slowed down, his mind working at incredible speeds as it processed what just happened.

Sasamaru…

Ducker…

Tetsuo…

S-Sachi…

…

'SACHI!'

A guttural scream ripped out of Kirito's throat as his emotions were conveyed through a single sound. All the mobs in the room froze, reacting to the raw emotion held in the scream of despair. Then, everything went silent.

The sound of a menu being opened rang out through the room.

An ominous aura flared, filling the room with a depressing mood.

The sound of metal clattering against the floor snapped the mobs out of their paralysis.

The sound of another sword slowly scraping against its sheathe brought the attention of everything contained in the room to the ominous, glowing light.

Two blades of steel gave a dull wink before the bloodthirsty dance began…

A bloodthirsty dance of despair.

Weaving in and out of strikes, Kirito gave his enemies no chance to react as his swords constantly sought out the throats of his enemies. Gutting one Dwarf, the teen burst through the shattered remains as his right sword stabbed straight through an Elemental's face. Bringing his left blade around in a devastating arc, it glowed faintly as the Sword Skill silently slashed through its roadblocks, cutting everything in its path in half. Catching a glint of light, Kirito threw his body backwards as an axe sought out his throat, barely dodging the rusty old blade. Turning his momentum into a backflip, the teen smashed his boot into the Dwarves' chin, sending it airborne before a simple flash of silver ended its life. Quickly making mince-work of the rest of the mobs, the trap door slowly rumbled back up into the ceiling as the broken boy fell to his knees, his twin blades fell to the ground, metal scaping against cold stone.

It was over, but at a price far too expensive.

'How many more lives do you want to conquer, Kayaba,' Kirito murmured, his body shaking violently. Tears began to stream down his face as the boy retracted into his shell, his body curling up until he was a ball of black. Pain racked his body as the teen choked on his tears, ignoring the virtual world around him.

'Kirito.' Sinon knelt and placed her hand on Kirito's shoulder before slowing prying open his limbs apart from the fetal position he lay in. The moment the girl managed to get the broken teen apart, he lunged forwards into her shoulder, using it as his waterfall of tears cascaded over her armor. Surprised for a moment, Sinon gave Kirito an unseen sad smile before slowly rubbing his back, comforting the tortured soul as her own tears threatened to spill. Together, they sat there for what seemed like hours, basking in each other's presence before the girl whispered something in the boy's ear. He eventually nodded and they both stood up, the boy grabbed his weapons before slowly walking out of the trap room, leaving the dungeon with barely any resistance.

* * *

 **And before anybody asks me if Kirito is using goddamn Dual Wielding, no, he isn't. He is merely using two swords to his advantage. Besides, his handle in the beta was never really talked about, and you really don't know what he used. Anyway, this chapter may have seemed rushed, which it is… somewhat. Okay, I lied. It's really rushed storywise in my opinion. Anyway, I honestly don't like the Moonlit Black Cats that much in SAO, but I recognize that they're necessary to push Kirito in a dark, deep pit of despair in which everything is black and covered in bloo-, okay, I'm getting off track. If you're wondering what my plan for this chapter was, look no further!**

 _Plan for this chapter:_

 _Train the peeps_ _– Sachi, Ducker, Sasamaru, Tetsuo, Keita_

 _Help them into higher level_

 _Reach floor 27 and help fight boss_

 _Go back to same floor with Kirito and Sinon_

 _Sachi gets stuck in room and Sinon runs in_

 _Kirito barely arrives on time and slips in_

 _Kirito basically kills everything he sees as Sachi is wounded, Sinon heals girl before stopping Kirito's dubbed battle mode turn frenzy mode_

 _Manage to leave place as guild gets a place to stay_

 _Feel chills as they leave_

 _Laughing Coffin swoops in 3-4-5-6 floors later and kills them, leaving Sachi alive as she is absent_

 _Kirito and Sinon find out and look for Sachi, only for the girl to commit suicide accidentally as a Laughing Coffin member pushes her off the edge before escaping_

 _Kirito and Sinon have mental breakdown after Laughing Coffin member (PoH?) escapes_

 _End chapter_

 **As you can see, I was originally going to go with this, but I may have forgotten/ignored my own planning and went on and wrote something straight out of a donkey's ass. Oh well, I'll just roll with it and continue on. Honestly, bad habit of mine. Also, next chapter for story is… I don't know. I started too many stories for my own good, and now I've just gotten lazy with writing them. Most likely to next be updated is either Game of Life and Death or One Of A Kind. Anyway peeps, thanks for reading this chapter. Follow/Favorite if you want to; preferably I would like you to do that, and leave a review as well. All types of feedback is accept by me. Also, yes I know that I should be using "A" instead of 'A' but I've been taught both ways and it's just easier for me to go 'a' instead of "a". Now, Seeya!**

 **-Striderm8**


	9. Forest of Wandering

**A Different World**

 **Gods I hope I got the right part for this chapter.**

* * *

Walking through the dark forest, Sinon brushed aside a leaf that remained in her path before crouching down low. Peering into the distance, she ignored the boy that stopped by her side, not even bothering to hide.

'Kirito, get down?' The girl hissed. Ignoring his companion, the teen walked forwards through the forest, brushing aside the greenery that blocked his path. Growling, Sinon followed Kirito, her dagger out and ready to use, an exotic green staining the tip. As they pushed further, the trees seemed to rise even higher and tower over them, blocking most of the sunlight as the girl walked directly into a spiderweb. Shrieking, she quickly muffled herself with the scarf around her neck before cutting the webs and glaring at their remains, Kirito stifling his laughter. Sinon redirected her glare at Kirito who instantly went silent, but the glare turned into a small smile.

 _'He's doing better than usual,'_ the girl thought to herself as she thought back to Christmas in this very forest.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _'Kirito!' Sprinting forwards, Sinon came to a stop behind the boy before gasping for breath. 'Stop! This, is... suicide.'_

 _'This is my one shot at reviving Sachi, Sinon,' the teen responded, not even bothering to turn around. 'I need to know what she said. Even if she curses me and hates me, I'll accept what she has to say.' Walking forwards, Kirito quickly disappeared into a new area as Sinon cursed the Forest of Wandering. Slowly recovering her stamina in game, she walked forwards, entering the area Kirito just entered. As she entered, the girl heard an unnatural roar._

 _'The field boss,' the teen murmured before dashing forwards, the deep, heavy snow barely a hindrance. As she darted past all the trees, Sinon glimpsed the field boss, Nicholas the Renegade before finally seeing his full body. Gasping in surprise, she quickly shut it down before leaping forwards, planting her dagger into his side and sliding down, earning a roar of anger as it's aggro directed onto her._

* * *

Present

'Found something.' Blinking out of her daze, Sinon shook her head before hurrying forwards as Kirito crouched down low, his hand reaching towards his waist for two throwing picks. Slowly, the teen raised his hand before suddenly striking, the pick hurtling towards a tree.

 _Thud_

Satisfied, he snuck closer, Sinon behind him with her dagger poised. Soon, they reached an opening where the girl spotted a group of players, all on guard as they stood in a circle, blades, axes and daggers all poised and ready to strike. Glancing at their cursors, the two teens saw a colour mixed with green that no green player would ever want to see.

 _Yellow Cursor_

Quietly snarling, Kirito activated his search skill as he slowly pulled his sword out of its sheathe, the metal making a dull scraping noise as Sinon reached into her pocket, filling her hand with countless picks, each with a different poison on them.

'They're not the ones we're looking for, Kirito,' Sinon muttered as she stared straight ahead as the boy finished checking the area for traps. 'What should we do?'

'I've got an idea...'

Staggering into the opening, Sinon pretended to play drunk as she slowly swayed towards the five players who seemed confused at her sudden appearance. As they advanced warily with their weapons by their sides, the girl hid her disgust as she readied the picks in her hands. As the yellow player tried to touch her as he talked, Sinon casually pushed his arm aside, keeping her act up as she pierced his skin with one paralyzing pick.

'3... 2... 1...' Kirito silently stood as Sinon dodged and swayed through all their advances on her, coming to a stop as all five players fell onto the ground, the poison coursing through their veins. Dropping the picks in her hands, the girl sneered as she crouched down and picked up one of the players by their hair, the male whimpering as he realized who she was.

'Alright, speak up,' Kirito said as he lowered the tip of his blade dangerously close to the player's head. 'Why are you here in the Forest of Wandering?'

'W-We were just passing by,' he managed to stutter out before Sinon snarled and smashed his head into the ground, his HP dropping slightly.

'I don't want to hear your lies,' she muttered quietly. 'Tell us the truth, otherwise...' She let the sentence go unfinished as her dagger winked at him, making the male even more nervous.

'W-W-We were just looking for a place to stay the night,' the player stammered, virtual sweat running down his virtual face.

'What about the rest of you?' Kirito said aloud, his sword not moving an inch. 'Why are you traveling with a yellow player?' Seeing some hang their heads in shame, the teen sighed. 'Tell us the truth, we won't hurt you regardless of what you say... Well, I won't, but...' Trailing off, Sinon sighed as she felt the boy's gaze hit her back.

'Kirito,' the girl said sweetly as she stood up and turned around, a sweet smile on her face. 'What exactly do you mean by that?'

To say the least, the group of players caught by the two teenagers were in for a roller-coaster of emotions as they watched them bicker for five minutes before being forcefully teleported out of the area, the Forest of Wandering working its magic.

* * *

Making her way out of the forest after an hour before remembering she had bought a map, Sinon sighed as she brushed leaves off her shoulder before moving onto the tricky part, removing the trapped twigs in her hair. Groaning as she pulled the twigs out, the teen half-heartedly teleported to Floor 35. As she blinked, taking in her new urban, medieval surroundings of cobblestone pathways and roads to closely built 2-5 story buildings, Sinon pulled open her menu and tapped on Kirito's name before activating Trace mode. Eyes flashing before settling into a deep yellow, the girl walked forwards as she spotted her companion's footsteps not too far away, the trail no longer fresh. Following the trail, she stopped outside of an inn and sighed.

'If two plus two is four,' Sinon muttered as she entered. 'Then that means that Kirito's mysterious aura attracted yet another player of the opposite gender. Well, I could be wrong.' Walking towards the staircase as she ignored all the players feasts, a cloaked figure suddenly appeared as he landed, jumping from above the stairs. Paying no heed to him but curious, Sinon stuck her foot out as he passed by, tripping him. As he cursed, his hood came off and the teen memorized it before hurrying up the stairs as the man quickly ran off. Making her way towards a door, Sinon turned the tracking feature off as she knocked once before crossing her arms and waiting. Soon, it swung open and Kirito's face popped out before spotting the girl and slowly shrinking away.

'Uhh, hi?'

...

 **'UUK!'**

 _ **BANG**_

 _Thud_

…

'Ahh, Kirito?' A short girl hurried forwards as she kneeled by the teen, a worried expression on her face as Kirito winced, rubbing the back of his head. 'Are you alright?'

'Y-Yeah,' he muttered before slowly standing up as Sinon walked in, the door swinging shut behind her. 'This isn't the first time this is happened.'

'Hey, you!' Looking at the brunette, Sinon's face remained flat as the girl placed her hands on her hips, a cross look on her face. 'Why'd you barge in and then hit Kirito, huh?'

'So,' the teen girl moved forwards, ignoring the brunette as she gasped at being ignored before continuing her rant behind Sinon. 'Care to explain?'

'Heh, well...'

 _Five minutes later..._

'So,' Sinon murmured as her finger absently reached the corner of her lip. 'That explains why a guy seemed to be in a hurry as he left.'

'You saw the guy who eavesdropped on us?' Kirito's eyes narrowed as he ceased rocking on the chair he was currently seated on. 'What'd he look like?'

'Umm, Kirito...' Looking at Silica, the teen seemed shocked before scratching his cheek, embarrassed.

'Uhh, sorry Silica,' he said meekly before recovering. 'I got off topic. Anyway, are you fine to meet me on the 47th Floor tomorrow?'

'I'll be there!'

'Alright then.' Standing up, Kirito walked towards the door, Sinon already ahead of him. 'I'll see you tomorrow then Silica.'

'Are you sure about this?' As the door shut, Kirito sighed as he walked forwards with the girl beside him before reaching his own room.

'Look,' he said as he opened the door to his room. 'I don't want to do this either, but it's my best shot at getting them.' Frowning, Sinon said nothing as Kirito muttered, 'night,' before sighing and entering the room, the door shutting behind her as the lock clicked into place.

* * *

 **Alright, sorry for short chapters, but I don't have enough time to write a bloody 4,000-word chapter. I'll add a bonus 1** **st** **person here at the bottom for you. Next chapter will just conclude the Silica time part thingy before moving on. Also, if I really need, I'll explain why Kirito and Sinon are like this underneath.**

 **\- Striderm8**

* * *

 **Kirito**

I can't lie to myself anymore. All I do is **fail** people when they need me the most. I'm a **fuckup** , a **failure**... And yet...

 _ **SInon**_

Why does she stay my side? She has seen me at my **weakest** and yet walks alongside **me** as we clear this death game. Sinon is **strong** , and she has time to waste with me? Somethings wrong...

 **No**

I **refuse** to think like this! I **will** clear this game, for all the souls that **failed** to stay strong, and for **Sachi**. I'll **end** this game once and for all, and not even **Kayaba** will stop me.

I **will** end this, even if it **kills me**.

* * *

 **Sinon**

 **How?**

The one question I want to ask **him**. How does **he** do it? To remain **strong** despite the circumstances and push through, no matter his odds. He may not be the **strongest** , but his **determination** , I **envy** it. A bunch of teenagers with no adults around to help **forced** to play a death game and he hasn't **cracked** under the pressure, despite his **losses**. Even with the death of the **Moonlit Black Cats** , he hasn't stopped fighting for others.

Kirito...

Teach me...

Teach me how to be **strong just like you..**... . . . . .


	10. Unspoken Promises

**A Different World**

AND I AM BAC-!

…

*Clears Throat*

 **Sorry, there we go. Anyway, I'm back with a new chapter cause I felt like this required an update. Anyhow, Ribbons of Fate** _ **should**_ **(hopefully) be updated after this. Enjoy your chapter bud!**

…

 **Allssooooooo, I may be trying out new story ideas and writing styles from now on as well. Stuff like [this] will most likely be used from now on and etc cetera.**

 **Oh yeah... 100 followers, thanks for that guys (and girls).**

* * *

Wandering around Floor 47, Julian sighed as sunlight shone brightly, its warmth making his body feel relaxed as a cool breeze made all the flowers rustle. Looking around, countless couples walked around, chatting happily, ignorant of their situation as they enjoyed what they had.

"So, whatcha' doing here?"

Turning around, Julian smiled as he was met with a familiar sight.

"Nothing much, Argo," the teen said. "I thought I'd go enjoy a nice day out."

"Sure, sure," Argo snickered. "If that's the case, then why do ya' have ya' armour on then?"

"Just because this area is a safe zone doesn't mean that we can relax," Julian replied, his armour rustling as the white metal shone brightly. "Besides, I still need to get used to this."

Glancing around, the teenager sighed as he noticed most of the people gathered looking in his direction.

"How about we strike a deal then?" Eyeing Argo suspiciously, Julian sighed.

"Fine. Let's just go... somewhere else." Walking towards the teleport gate with the info-breaker, they stopped on the pedestal. "This better not be anything crazy."

Argo just grinned.

* * *

Slowly stepping off the teleport pedestal, Sinon winced as she covered her eyes, the sunlight blinding her. Walking forwards, the girl brushed aside a stray strand of hair as she ignored the couples around her. Letting out a small breath, the teenager felt a bit nervous, but brushed it aside as she heard the teleport gate activate.

"It's so pretty!"

Silica skipped past Sinon before crouching in front of some flowers, admiring the pure beauty the game had to offer whilst Kirito made his way towards Sinon.

"Did you find anything?" He asked quietly, pretending to admire the floor.

"No," she admitted. "I haven't noticed anybody acting differently. Anyway," the girl looked at Silica, making the teen follow her gaze. "Have you told her anything?"

"No." Letting out a small sigh, Kirito gave Silica a small smile as she looked over, making the girl blush violently before she jumped to her feet, saying something about having to go find the Pneuma Flower. "Come on, let's go."

Frowning, Sinon watched Kirito catch up to Silica before shaking her head. Walking, the teen lingered behind a couple of steps as they talked, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

"A-Are you alright, Sinon?" Glaring at the shorter girl, she let out a 'eep' before Sinon sighed.

"Sorry, I've just felt a bit under the weather," the older girl said with a small smile.

 _*Crunch*_

Instantly, Sinon fought the urge to whip around and instead caught up to Kirito and Silica.

"So, Silica, what type of weapon do you use?"

* * *

Chatting for about an hour, Sinon was feeling a lot better as they continued following the cobblestone path. Having encountered monsters, Kirito had weakened them or the girl had paralysed the mobs, letting Silica finish them off and get the EXP.

"I see it!" Running forwards, Kirito gave Silica a small smile before slowly making his way over. Taking her time, Sinon wandered over as Silica plucked the flower from where it resided.

"Kirito," the older girl said as she pulled out a teleport crystal. "I'm gonna go on ahead."

"Hmm?" Seeing Sinon's face, he frowned before sighing. "Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you back at the front lines."

Nodding, the teen activated her crystal, disappearing in a flurry of lights as Kirito's face was shadowed by his bangs.

"Ahh, Kirito?"

"I'm fine," the teen said as he straightened up, a small smile on his face, despite his eyes looking a bit far away. "Come on, let's go somewhere safe so we can revive Pina."

* * *

The moment Sinon entered her inn's room, she leaned against the wall before slowly sliding down, her hands cupped, cradling her head. The moment Kirito had started showing those small smiles, she knew what he was thinking.

 _Sachi_

Sinon didn't hate the girl. In fact, she was quite proud of her, despite not showing it. Sachi was afraid and had no experience, and yet, she ventured out and fought, even trusting a stranger who helped her before she died in the same room, with that exact stranger.

"Kirito," Sinon murmured before tears began to cascade down her face. Trying to hold back her tears, she failed, her chest heaving as she cried like a child. She couldn't imagine the pain he went through, losing somebody who had quickly grown close to him.

 _'No,'_ she thought, looking up despite the fresh, salty tears staining the floor, only for the [ **Immortal Object** ] to appear. _'It wasn't just Sachi... It was all of the Moonlit Black Cats.'_

Sniffling, Sinon slowly stood up. The girl was like a doll; her movements stiff as she slowly took step by step to a full-body mirror. Stopping, her reflection showed her sorry state. Her tears had stopped, but they had already stained her face. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she was still sniffling. All of those pent-up emotions...

 _Click_

Just like that, they were released. Over forty floors, and she had finally broke.

 _Bling_

Her finger moved on her own accord and her menu opened. Scrolling past the once available [Log-Out] button, she opened her inventory and tapped on an item.

[ #1897]

Tearing open the packet, she gazed at its contents before reassuring herself.

 _'Today is the day that Asada Shino dies,'_ Sinon thought as the she gingerly touched the power-blue powder.

 _'From now on...'_

 _ **'I won't let Kirito go through pain like that ever again.'**_

* * *

Kirito knew something was wrong with Sinon the moment she teleported away. He wasn't dumb; he had come to know a lot more about the girl then he did before. After taking his time with Rosalia and sending [Titan's Hand] to the [Black Iron Palace], he had gone with Silica to revive Pina before leaving. Instantly, he had teleported to the front lines and raced to the inn they stayed. What he heard when he stopped outside Sinon's door broke his heart.

 _Drip_

 _Drop_

 _Drip_

 _Drop_

Hearing the soft pitter patter of tears hitting the cold, wooden floor, Kirito nearly knocked on the door, but stopped himself as he heard the girl talking to herself. Gritting his teeth, he forced his gaze away and walked off, brooding as he left the inn in silence. Ignorant of where he walked, Kirito found himself surrounded by mobs, all snarling as he stood there emotionlessly.

 _'Sinon...'_

Unsheathing his sword, it glinted dangerously as he was charged.

 _'I swear...'_

With a precise slash, Kirito decapitated a lion-like beast before flipping backwards, only to uppercut another mob before using [Horizontal], ending another monster's life.

 _ **'I'll never make you cry again. I'll protect you, no matter the cost.'**_

* * *

 **Yeah, another short chapter, but I couldn't bring myself to write more after that. All this time spent procrastinating writing** _ **and**_ **procrastinating school assessments, just...**

 ***sigh***

 **Sorry, but I hope you enjoy this little snippet. Anyway, this concludes on what I call the 'Silica Arc.'**

 **Seeya~**


	11. Serious Talk

Okay, serious talk. I regret to say this, but I'm taking a short, temporary break/hiatus for writing stories. I'll still be around leaving reviews and reading of the sort, but currently? It's just... difficult, if I had to choose a word. I have nothing against writing, but with a new school term, threats, personal problems with family, possible depression around the corner (again) and the sort, I'm taking a break that I think that'll help me. If I have anything else to say, I'm glad that I started writing when I did here on FF. Otherwise, I don't think the current me would be here...

Enough with the morbid crap. Currently, I've finished half of the chapter for A Game Of Life And Death, and nothing else has really been worked on. I'll be posting this on all my stories, but **specifically for my AU SAO followers** , if you want me to release this chapter prematurely, I can. However, I won't be changing anything with it. It'll have all my planning for the chapter, extra notes; pretty much everything in the document including spoilers. So, if you want to see it and be spoiled, leave a review or something. If ten people at the very least want it, I may release it.

Anyway, I'm not cancelling any stories, just taking a well-needed break. Besides, my mental and physical health hasn't been the best recently. Regardless, I wish you all a good day, because hell will freeze, burn, freeze again then explode, reverse time then implode before my luck turns good.

If you want to ask me anything, please just PM me. It may take me a while to respond, but I'll try my best.

\- Striderm8


End file.
